China — Fish and Fish Products — Other Fish/Seafood
China received 6 RASFF border-rejection notifications in Other Fish/Seafood, part of Fish and Fish Products between 2023-Q3 and 2026-Q2. Volume is falling year-on-year. The most-cited issues are fish DNA presence, cadmium, and Anisakis. The list below gives each of these 14 rejections by date and RASFF reference, with the country that notified it and the hazard found; 2 carry the laboratory result and 9 say what happened to the consignment.
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Key figures
If you import other fish/seafood from China
- Chance a consignment is opened at the EU border
- Not on the EU's increased-checks list, so only member states' routine, risk-based checks apply (rates not published).
- If it is rejected
- Re-dispatched or destroyed 40%; held, final fate not recorded 40%; re-dispatched 20%. A re-dispatched lot can be sold elsewhere, a treated or sorted one can be released once it complies, and a destroyed one is lost.
- Where rejections happen
- Poland (2), Germany (1), Italy (1), of 5 border rejections in the last 3 years.
- Riskiest months
- May, February, August, by rejections since 2020.
- Test for before shipping
- fish dna presence (1).
The EU does not publish how many consignments are shipped, so no page can state a true probability of rejection; these are the figures that are published.
Quarterly rejections, last 12 quarters
Show the numbers
| Quarter | Notifications |
|---|---|
| 2023-Q3 | 1 |
| 2023-Q4 | 0 |
| 2024-Q1 | 0 |
| 2024-Q2 | 0 |
| 2024-Q3 | 1 |
| 2024-Q4 | 0 |
| 2025-Q1 | 1 |
| 2025-Q2 | 1 |
| 2025-Q3 | 0 |
| 2025-Q4 | 0 |
| 2026-Q1 | 1 |
| 2026-Q2 | 1 |
Recent rejections
- 2026.5371 Difference fish specie declaration in label in surimi from China Notified by Italy. Result detection of a different fish species than that declared. fish DNA presence
- 2026.0990 pasożyty w mrożonych płatach z makreli z Chin///parasites in frozen mackerel flakes from China Notified by Poland. Re-dispatched.
- 2025.4057 Obecność widocznych pasożytów w mrożonych płatach z makreli (Scomber japonicus)///Presence of visible parasites in frozen mackerel (Scomber japonicus) flaps Notified by Poland. Re-dispatched or destroyed.
- 2025.1070 Insufficient traceability/unauthorized transport of frozen fish from China Notified by Germany. Re-dispatched or destroyed.
- 2024.6517 Ruptura de la cadena de frío en pescado de China. Cold chain break in fish from China. Notified by Spain.
- 2023.4457 Cadmium in fish (cephalopods). Notified by Netherlands. Result 2.0 (limit 1.0 mg/kg - ppm). cadmium
- 2022.4871 Absence of health certificate(s) for frozen mackerel (Scomber japonicus) from China Notified by Poland. Re-dispatched or destroyed.
- 2021.4581 BUQUE NO AUTORIZADO - BACALO - CHINA // UNAUTHORIZED VESSEL - COD - CHINA Notified by Spain.
- 2021.1786 Altered organoleptic characteristics Swordfish from China Notified by Italy. Destroyed.
- 2020.2169 parasites in frozen fish from China - border rejection Notified by Poland. Re-dispatched.
- 2020.2154 parasites in the shipment of frozen mackerel carcasses Notified by Poland. Re-dispatched. Anisakis
- 2020.2075 IRREGULAR IMPORT IDENTITY CONTROL OF FROZEN FISH FROM CHINA Notified by France.
- 2020.2069 Parasites (Anisakidae) in frozen mackerel slices from China Notified by Poland. Re-dispatched.
- 2020.0536 Poor temperature control in frozen atlantic cods from China Notified by Norway. Re-dispatched.
Found on the EU market: alerts and information notifications
Besides border rejections, 24 notifications since 2020 concerned other fish/seafood from China found after entering the EU — 6 alerts, 18 information notifications. They are not part of the rejection figures or rates above, which measure border controls.
How they were found: at the EU border 62%, official control on the market 21%, consumer complaint or illness 12%, company's own check 4%. 1 led to a recall from consumers.
Show the numbers
| Year | Total | Alerts | Information notifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2021 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 2022 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| 2026 to date | 4 | 3 | 1 |
- 2026.9320 alertUnauthorised substance crystal violet in frozen fillets of fish from China Notified by Slovenia. At the EU border, reached the market. Result 0.71 (limit 0 µg/kg - ppb). crystal violet
- 2026.8502 alertUnauthorised substance crystal violet in frozen fillets of fish from China Notified by Slovenia. At the EU border, reached the market. Result 10,34. crystal violet
- 2026.6501 alertCrystal violet in frozen fillets of fish from China Notified by Slovenia. At the EU border, reached the market. Result 1,46. crystal violet
- 2026.5625 info: follow-upConsignment fish gelatin skipped veterinary border control Notified by Netherlands. At the EU border, reached the market.
- 2025.7388 alertForeign body (metal fragment) in crayfish tails from China Notified by Germany. Company's own check, reached the market.
- 2025.1959 info: follow-upMonkfish with cyst from China via Austria Notified by Austria. Official control on the market, reached the market. Result detected. microsporidia
- 2025.1537 info: attentionHistamine in canned Mackerel Notified by Italy. At the EU border. Result 249. histamine
- 2025.0934 info: follow-upconsignment of mackerel in tomato sauce was not subjected to an official control at the border control post. Notified by Belgium. At the EU border, reached the market.
- 2024.9620 info: attentionPresencia de alérgenos no declarados (moluscos) en dados de rape congelados procedentes de China//Presence of undeclared allergens (molluscs) in frozen monkfish cubes from China Notified by Spain. Consumer complaint or illness, reached the market, treated, sorted or diverted.
- 2024.7310 info: attentionArsenic in frozen cod loin from China Notified by Poland. At the EU border. Result 6483 +/- 1296,6. arsenic
Data and downloads
Download all 38 entries (CSV) — every notification behind this page, border rejections and those found on the market, with how each was found and what was done.
The file holds entries up to 2026-10-20. To get new ones for China by email, watch China.
China country report since 2020 — all notification types, not just border rejections →