China — Food Contact Materials
China received 106 RASFF border-rejection notifications in Food Contact Materials between 2024-Q1 and 2026-Q4. Volume peaked at 15 in 2025-Q4, with the trend falling sharply year-on-year. The most-cited issues are formaldehyde, primary aromatic amines, and chromium. The list below gives the 20 most recent rejections by date and RASFF reference, with the country that notified it and the hazard found; 9 carry the laboratory result and 11 say what happened to the consignment.
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Key figures
If you import food contact materials 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
- Held, final fate not recorded 42%; destroyed 25%; not stated 12%; re-dispatched 11%; re-dispatched or destroyed 8%; treated, sorted or diverted 1%. 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
- Ireland (23), Italy (17), Spain (12), of 114 border rejections in the last 3 years.
- Riskiest months
- July, May, April, by rejections since 2020.
- Test for before shipping
- primary aromatic amines (30), formaldehyde (23), migration overall too high level (7), melamine (5), chromium (3).
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 |
|---|---|
| 2024-Q1 | 6 |
| 2024-Q2 | 10 |
| 2024-Q3 | 14 |
| 2024-Q4 | 12 |
| 2025-Q1 | 13 |
| 2025-Q2 | 8 |
| 2025-Q3 | 9 |
| 2025-Q4 | 15 |
| 2026-Q1 | 9 |
| 2026-Q2 | 5 |
| 2026-Q3 | 4 |
| 2026-Q4 | 1 |
Recent rejections
- 2026.8711 Migracja formaldehydu z misek z melaminy// Formaldehyde migration from melamine bowls Notified by Poland. Re-dispatched. formaldehyde
- 2026.8152 Border Rejection due to Formaldehyde Migration from Royal Worcester Little Wren mug Notified by Ireland. Destroyed. formaldehyde
- 2026.7956 Absence of documentation for food contact materials from China Notified by Greece.
- 2026.7916 Insufficient documentation for plastic food contact materials from China Notified by Greece.
- 2026.5818 Formaldehyde in spoon of melamine Notified by Sweden. Destroyed. Result 45 (limit 15 mg/kg - ppm). formaldehyde
- 2026.5236 Absence of documentation for melamine plates from China Notified by Greece.
- 2026.4239 Border Rejection of Consignment of Nylon Kitchen Utensils from Great Britain due to Incomplete Documentation Notified by Ireland.
- 2026.4212 insufficient checks on and absence of certified analytical report for plastic kitchenware from China, dispatched from the United Kingdom Notified by European Commission.
- 2026.3305 Formaldehido en vajilla de melamina procedente de China/Formaldehyde in melamine tableware from China Notified by Spain. Result 6, 9 y 10 (limit 10 mg/kg - ppm). formaldehyde
- 2026.3137 Diverse product (FCM) from China have not the necessary import documentation Notified by Croatia. Destroyed.
- 2026.2610 Border Rejection of Consignment of Nylon Kitchen Utensils due to Incomplete Documentation Notified by Ireland.
- 2026.2326 Hight amount of primary Aromatic Amines (PAAs) in black nylon (polyamide) spatulas set from China Notified by Latvia. Destroyed. Result 14.25 (limit 0,01 mg/kg - ppm). primary aromatic amines
- 2026.1987 Migration of Primary Aromatic Amines (PAAs) from polyamide kitchen ware (turners, spoon, tongs) from China. Notified by Finland. Re-dispatched or destroyed. Result 0,0054 - 0,0056 (limit 0,002 mg/kg - ppm). primary aromatic amines
- 2026.1814 Migration of Primary Aromatic Amines (PAAs) from 7 piece nylon utensil set Notified by Ireland. Re-dispatched. Result 0.021 +/- 0.001 (limit 0.01 mg/kg - ppm). primary aromatic amines
- 2026.1809 Utensili da cucina di plastica a base di poliammide/Migration of aromatic amines from polyamide-based kitchenware from China Notified by Italy. Result 1 ° attacco cucchiaio 0.016 mg/kg; servispaghetti 0.020 mg/kg; mestolo 0.027 mg/kg; II° … primary aromatic amines
- 2026.1456 Border rejection of nylon scoops from China due to unsatisfactory laboratory report Notified by Ireland. Re-dispatched.
- 2026.0530 SŁOMKI z PLA JEDNORAZOWEGO UŻYTKU // SINGLE-USE PLASTIC STRAWS from China Notified by Poland. Destroyed.
- 2026.0489 Migrazione specifica di cromo in lame per affettatrici dalla Cina/ specific chromium migration beyond legal limit from meat slicers from China Notified by Italy. Result 2,9 ± 0,71 (limit 0,1 mg/kg - ppm). chromium
- 2026.0111 Too high level of total migration from plastic tableware from China. Notified by Finland. Destroyed. Result 31-32 (limit 10 mg/dm²). migration total
- 2025.10416 Formaldehyde migration from melamine spoon originating from China. Notified by Belgium. Re-dispatched or destroyed. Result 151.1 (limit 15 mg/kg - ppm). formaldehyde
Found on the EU market: alerts and information notifications
Besides border rejections, 483 notifications since 2020 concerned food contact materials from China found after entering the EU — 144 alerts, 339 information notifications. They are not part of the rejection figures or rates above, which measure border controls.
How they were found: official control on the market 76%, at the EU border 10%, monitoring or surveillance sample 6%, other 3%, consumer complaint or illness 3%, company's own check 2%. 139 led to a recall from consumers.
Show the numbers
| Year | Total | Alerts | Information notifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 51 | 31 | 20 |
| 2021 | 99 | 17 | 82 |
| 2022 | 96 | 21 | 75 |
| 2023 | 74 | 23 | 51 |
| 2024 | 58 | 21 | 37 |
| 2025 | 69 | 23 | 46 |
| 2026 to date | 36 | 8 | 28 |
- 2026.9386 info: follow-upMigration of 4,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane (MDA) from a Nylon Serving Spatula from China Notified by Belgium. Official control on the market, reached the market. primary aromatic amines
- 2026.9335 info: attentionHigh volatile substance content in children's silicone bowl from China Notified by Slovenia. Official control on the market, reached the market. Result 1,82 (limit 0,5 %). volatile organic constituents
- 2026.9121 info: follow-upwykryto migrację formaldechydu w talerzu z melaminy/ Migration of formaldehyde detected in a melamine plate. Notified by Poland. Official control on the market, reached the market. formaldehyde
- 2026.8809 info: follow-upToo high migration of aluminium from drinking bottle Notified by Netherlands. Monitoring or surveillance sample, reached the market. Result 53 (limit 5 mg/kg - ppm). aluminium
- 2026.8803 info: follow-upToo high migration of aluminium from drinking bottle Notified by Netherlands. Monitoring or surveillance sample, reached the market. Result 12 (limit 5 mg/kg - ppm). aluminium
- 2026.8720 alertAluminum water bottle with an internal coating of bisphenol A-based phenoxy resin. Notified by France. Official control on the market, reached the market. Result 209 (limit 0 µg/l). bisphenol A
- 2026.8150 alertMigration of primary aromatic amines from kitchen ladle manufactured in China imported from Italy Notified by Malta. Official control on the market, reached the market. Result 0.005 (limit 0.002 mg/kg - ppm). primary aromatic amines
- 2026.8008 info: follow-upMigration of bisphenol A from tins of bamboo shoots in strips or slices from China, via the Netherlands Notified by Germany. Official control on the market, reached the market, re-dispatched. Result 265 ± 66 (limit 50 µg/kg - ppb). bisphenol A
- 2026.7922 info: attentionUnauthorised use of bamboo in plastic tableware from China Notified by Greece. Official control on the market, reached the market. unauthorised
- 2026.7759 info: follow-upMigration of Volatile Organic Constituents from a Silicone Loaf Pan from China, via Poland Notified by Slovakia. Official control on the market, reached the market. Result 1,177 (limit 0,5 %). volatile organic constituents
Data and downloads
Download all 756 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 2026-10-21. To get new ones for China by email, watch China.
China country report since 2020 — all notification types, not just border rejections →