The Congolese Control Office (OCC) has placed its inspection services on high alert following an EU food safety alert over a shipment of frozen chicken legs from Poland contaminated with salmonella.

In a service memo dated June 24, 2026, OCC Director General Professor Pierre Lohohola Osomba informed the agency’s central departments, provincial offices and branches of an alert issued through the European Union’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF).

The alert, referenced as RASFF 2026.4719, relates to a shipment of frozen chicken legs produced in Poland that tested positive for Salmonella enterica serovar Infantis.

According to the OCC memo, the shipment consists of 1,384 cartons of frozen chicken legs packaged in 500-gram units, with a total net weight of 692 kilograms. The products carry an expiration date of May 14, 2026.

The shipment was produced by Animex Foods SP in Poland for Iberdigest SL, a company based in Girona, Spain. It was intended for IBD, Business and Insight Company SARLU, located at Galerie de la Cathédrale du Centenaire on Boulevard Triomphal in Kinshasa’s Lingwala municipality.

Increased Inspections

According to the note, the products were withdrawn from the European market because of the health risks they pose to consumers. The OCC has instructed its inspection teams to step up inspections to prevent the products from being distributed, sold or consumed in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The measures include checking import documents, conducting physical inspections and, where necessary, laboratory testing of the products concerned. The OCC’s management has also instructed its services to report immediately if any of the products are found or intercepted.

The note does not indicate that the shipment is already on the Congolese market. Instead, it says the OCC issued the internal alert as a precaution to prevent the products from being distributed or consumed.

Salmonella is one of the leading causes of foodborne illness. It can cause gastrointestinal infections, including diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, particularly after the consumption of contaminated animal products such as poultry.

For the OCC, the alert highlights the importance of health controls on imported food products, as they can pass through several markets before reaching consumers. The priority is now to identify, intercept and remove any affected products before they enter distribution.

Ronsard Luabeya