India — Fruits and Vegetables — Peppers & Chilies
India received 7 RASFF border-rejection notifications in Peppers & Chilies, part of Fruits and Vegetables between 2023-Q3 and 2026-Q2. Volume peaked at 3 in 2024-Q1, with the trend rising sharply year-on-year. The most-cited issues are ethion, fipronil, and buprofezin. Measured against EU import value, that runs at 97.4 notifications per $1 billion of imports of this commodity from India over the last 3 years. The list below gives each of these 20 rejections by date and RASFF reference, with the country that notified it and the hazard found; 15 carry the laboratory result and 11 say what happened to the consignment.
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Key figures
If you import peppers & chilies from India
Lower risk. India ranks 10th of 11 origins shipping peppers & chilies to the EU on border rejections per $1 billion of EU imports, at 97.4 — above 10% of them.
least riskmost risk
- Chance a consignment is opened at the EU border
- 30% of consignments get identity and physical checks for pesticide residues (Reg. (EU) 2019/1793).
- Rejections against import volume
- On average, 1 border rejection per 2,103 tonnes imported into the EU over the last 3 years; the 5th highest rejection rate of 7 origins with enough import volume on record to rate (EU import quantities 2022–2024, FAOSTAT).
- If it is rejected
- Destroyed 43%; re-dispatched or destroyed 29%; held, final fate not recorded 14%; not stated 14%. 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
- Italy (3), France (1), Ireland (1), of 7 border rejections in the last 3 years.
- Riskiest months
- March, June, February, by rejections since 2020.
- Test for before shipping
- ethion (4), fipronil (2), acetamiprid (1), aflatoxins (1), buprofezin (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 | 0 |
| 2023-Q4 | 0 |
| 2024-Q1 | 3 |
| 2024-Q2 | 1 |
| 2024-Q3 | 0 |
| 2024-Q4 | 0 |
| 2025-Q1 | 1 |
| 2025-Q2 | 0 |
| 2025-Q3 | 1 |
| 2025-Q4 | 0 |
| 2026-Q1 | 0 |
| 2026-Q2 | 1 |
Recent rejections
- 2026.4588 Multiple pesticide residues in dry red chilli from India Notified by France. Result 0,041 (limit 0,01 mg/kg - ppm). buprofezindinotefuranethionfipronil+3 more
- 2025.5187 Border Rejection of Red Chilli Peppers from UK of Indian Origin With No CHED-D Document Notified by Ireland. Destroyed.
- 2025.1576 Aflatoxins in whole dried chili Notified by Sweden. Destroyed. Result 47,8 ± 16 (limit 5 µg/kg - ppb). Aflatoxin B1aflatoxin total
- 2024.4942 Ethion above permitted limits in Dry Chili from India Notified by Italy. Re-dispatched or destroyed. Result 0.24 (limit 0.10 null). ethion
- 2024.1798 Pesticide' residues :Acetamipirid, Ethion, Fipronil (sum fipronil + sulfone metabolite) in Capsicum annuum from India Notified by Italy. Result 0,914 +/- 0,457. acetamipridethionfipronil
- 2024.1300 Ethion in fresh Capsicum spp from India Notified by Italy. Destroyed. Result 1,3 +/- 0,7 mg (limit 0,01 mg /kg). ethion
- 2024.1045 Absence of health certificate for frozen peppers from India Notified by Poland. Re-dispatched or destroyed.
- 2023.2012 Buprofezin, chlorpyrifos, ethion, profenofos, tricyclazole, fipronil and fenpropathrin in chilli crushed from India Notified by Greece. Destroyed. Result 0.026 ± 0.013 (95%) (limit 0.01 mg/kg - ppm). buprofezinchlorpyrifosethionfenpropathrin+3 more
- 2023.1999 several pesticides in chili peppers (Capsicum annuum) from India Notified by Sweden. Result 4,3 (limit 0.01 mg/kg - ppm). ethion
- 2023.0386 Pesticide residues in fresh chillies from India Notified by Germany. Result 0,85 (limit 0,3 mg/kg - ppm). acetamipridcarbofuranfiproniltebuconazole
- 2022.1358 Ethylene oxide in crushed chilies from India Notified by Greece. Result 0.73 ± 0.36 (limit 0.02 mg/kg - ppm). 2-chloroethanolethylene oxide
- 2022.1126 Aflatoxins in chilli powder extra hot from India Notified by Italy. Result 21.0 ± 9.2 (limit 10 µg/kg - ppb). Aflatoxin
- 2022.0195 Unauthorised substance ethion (0.23 mg/kg - ppm) in peppers (Capsicum spp.) from India Notified by Switzerland. Destroyed. Result 0,23 (limit 0,002 mg/kg - ppm). ethion
- 2021.5526 Quinalphos in peppers from India Notified by Switzerland. Destroyed. Result 0,026 (limit 0,01 mg/kg - ppm). pesticide residues
- 2021.3362 improper health certificate for frozen peppers (Capsicum spp) from India, via the United Kingdom Notified by Spain.
- 2021.3061 absence of health certificate(s) for chilli powder from India, via the United Kingdom Notified by Spain. Destroyed.
- 2021.1638 unauthorised substance ETO in peppers from India Notified by France. Destroyed. Result 0.34+-0.17 (limit 0.02 mg/kg - ppm). ethylene oxide
- 2020.3852 Frozen Red Chilli Puree Tablet (Batch B1200701) - Failed for excess pesticides Notified by United Kingdom. Result 0.04 (limit 0.01 mg/kg - ppm). acephatemethamidophosmonocrotophospropargite+1 more
- 2020.2281 Dried Whole Chilli Notified by United Kingdom. Result B1 9.9 (limit B1 5 µg/kg - ppb). Aflatoxin B1
- 2020.1123 Attempt to illegaly import chilli from India Notified by United Kingdom. Destroyed.
Found on the EU market: alerts and information notifications
Besides border rejections, 5 notifications since 2020 concerned peppers & chilies from India found after entering the EU — 5 information notifications. They are not part of the rejection figures or rates above, which measure border controls.
How they were found: company's own check 60%, at the EU border 40%.
Show the numbers
| Year | Total | Information notifications |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 1 | 1 |
| 2024 | 2 | 2 |
| 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 2 | 2 |
- 2026.8622 info: attentionDimethoate in chopped red jalapeno from India Notified by Belgium. Company's own check, reached the market. Result 0,1 (limit 0,01 mg/kg - ppm). dimethoate
- 2026.1286 info: follow-upIllegal importation of chillies (Capsicum spp.) from India Notified by Germany. At the EU border, destroyed.
- 2024.5324 info: attentionResiduos de plaguicidas (Azinfós-metilo) en pimiento triturado de La India. / Pesticide residues (Azinphos-methyl) in crushed Capsicum from India. Notified by Spain. At the EU border. Result 1,08 ± 0,54 (limit 0,01 mg/kg - ppm). azinphos-methyl
- 2024.3953 info: follow-upDetection of acetochlor in whole pepper from India, via Switzerland and via Spain Notified by France. Company's own check.
- 2023.7777 info: attentionCadmium in frozen red chili peppers from India Notified by Belgium. Company's own check, reached the market. Result 0,051 (limit 0,020 mg/kg - ppm). cadmium
Data and downloads
Download all 25 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 2026-09-29. To get new ones for India by email, watch India.
India country report since 2020 — all notification types, not just border rejections →