Kenya — Fruits and Vegetables — Peppers & Chilies
Kenya received 14 RASFF border-rejection notifications in Peppers & Chilies, part of Fruits and Vegetables between 2024-Q1 and 2026-Q4. Volume peaked at 3 in 2024-Q1, with the trend rising sharply year-on-year. The most-cited issues are carbendazim, lambda-cyhalothrin, and acephate. Measured against EU import value, that runs at 1,129 notifications per $1 billion of imports of this commodity from Kenya 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; 20 carry the laboratory result and 18 say what happened to the consignment.
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Key figures
If you import peppers & chilies from Kenya
Above the median. Kenya ranks 5th of 11 origins shipping peppers & chilies to the EU on border rejections per $1 billion of EU imports, at 1,129 — above 60% of them.
least riskmost risk
- Chance a consignment is opened at the EU border
- 20% of consignments get identity and physical checks for pesticide residues (Reg. (EU) 2019/1793).
- Rejections against import volume
- On average, 1 border rejection per 198 tonnes imported into the EU over the last 3 years; the 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 81%; held, final fate not recorded 12%; re-dispatched or destroyed 6%. 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
- Netherlands (4), Italy (3), Switzerland (3), of 16 border rejections in the last 3 years.
- Riskiest months
- March, July, August, by rejections since 2020.
- Test for before shipping
- carbendazim (5), lambda-cyhalothrin (5), acetamiprid (4), chlorfenapyr (4), acephate (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 | 3 |
| 2024-Q2 | 1 |
| 2024-Q3 | 1 |
| 2024-Q4 | 1 |
| 2025-Q1 | 0 |
| 2025-Q2 | 0 |
| 2025-Q3 | 1 |
| 2025-Q4 | 0 |
| 2026-Q1 | 2 |
| 2026-Q2 | 1 |
| 2026-Q3 | 3 |
| 2026-Q4 | 1 |
Recent rejections
- 2026.8956 High results for pesticides for Peppers (other than sweet) (Capsicum spp.) from Kenya Notified by Switzerland. Destroyed. Result 0.031 (limit 0.01 mg/kg - ppm). indoxacarblambda-cyhalothrinthiamethoxam
- 2026.7449 High results for pesticides for Peppers (Capsicum) from Kenya Notified by Switzerland. Destroyed. Result 0,022 (limit 0,09 mg/kg - ppm). acetamipridchlorfenapyrfenpyroximatelambda-cyhalothrin
- 2026.7300 Acetamiprid in bell peppers/chillies Notified by Sweden. Destroyed. Result 0,26 (limit 0,09 mg/kg - ppm). acetamiprid
- 2026.6899 Chlorpyrifos en pimientos de Kenia // Chlorpyrifos in peppers from Kenya Notified by Spain. Result Clorpirifos 0.084 ± 0,042 (limit 0.01mg /kg). chlorpyrifos
- 2026.5661 Clothianidin - Thiamethoxam and Lambda-Cyhalothrin above legal limits in fresh peppers (capsicum spp.)from Kenya Notified by Italy. Destroyed. Result 0,022 +/- 0,011 (limit 0,01 mg/kg - ppm). clothianidinlambda-cyhalothrinthiamethoxam
- 2026.2158 Residues of acetamiprid above legal limits in Capsicum spp from Kenya Notified by Italy. Destroyed. Result 0.59±0.3 (limit 0.09 mg/kg - ppm). acetamiprid
- 2026.0962 Pesticides in fresh chili Notified by Sweden. Destroyed. Result 0.73 (limit 0,1 mg/kg - ppm). carbendazim
- 2025.5287 Rawit Red ex Kenia Pesticide Residue Notified by Netherlands. Destroyed. Result 0.12 (limit 0.01 mg/kg - ppm). chlorfenapyr
- 2024.8809 Capsicum Kenya Pesticide Residue Notified by Netherlands. Destroyed. Result 0.72 (limit 0.3 mg/kg - ppm). acetamipridcarbendazimchlorothalonil
- 2024.5304 Pesticides residues in peppers of the genus Capsicum (other than sweet) from Kenya Notified by France. Destroyed. Result Carbendazime et bénomyl (somme, expr. en carbendazime) 2.2 ± 1.1 mg/kg. carbendazim
- 2024.3004 Capsicum Kenya Pesticide residu Notified by Netherlands. Destroyed. Result 0.024 (limit 0.01 mg/kg - ppm). chlorpyrifos-methyl
- 2024.1639 Pesticide residues (Carbendazim) above MRL in chili pepper from Kenya Notified by Norway. Destroyed. Result 0,24 (limit 0,1 mg/kg - ppm). carbendazim
- 2024.1592 Unauthorised substance Acephate (0.35 mg/kg - ppm) and Methamidophos (0.085 mg/kg - ppm) in peppers (Capsicum spp.) from Kenia Notified by Switzerland. Destroyed. Result 0.35 (limit 0.01 mg/kg - ppm). acephatemethamidophos
- 2024.0066 Chlorfenapyr e Lambda-cyhalothrin in peperoncini freschi dal Kenia//Chlorfenapyr and Lambda cyhalothrin in fresh chili peppers from Kenya Notified by Italy. Destroyed. Result 0.11 +/- 0.06 mg (limit 0.01 mg/kg - ppm). chlorfenapyrlambda-cyhalothrin
- 2023.7527 Pesticide residues in chili from Kenya Notified by Germany. Re-dispatched or destroyed. Result 0,86 (limit 0,01 mg/kg - ppm). acephatelambda-cyhalothrinmethamidophos
- 2023.7382 pesticide residues in red bird eye chillies from Kenya Notified by Netherlands. Result 0.040 (limit 0.01 mg/kg - ppm). acephatecarbendazimchlorfenapyrhexaconazole+1 more
- 2023.7201 Methamidophos and Acephate in fresh green chilies from Kenya Notified by Germany. Re-dispatched or destroyed. Result 0,064 (limit 0,01 mg/kg - ppm). acephatemethamidophos
- 2023.5014 Pesticide residues in chilli from Kenya Notified by Ireland. Destroyed. Result 1.4. thiacloprid
- 2023.3411 Presence of Carbendazim in chilli peppers from Kenia Notified by Italy. Destroyed. Result 0.31 +/- 0.16 (limit 0.1 mg/kg - ppm). carbendazim
- 2023.1645 acephate e methamidophos in fresh chili from Kenia Notified by Italy. Destroyed. Result 0,21 +/- 0,11 mg (limit 0,01 mg /kg). acephatemethamidophos
Found on the EU market: alerts and information notifications
Besides border rejections, 6 notifications since 2020 concerned peppers & chilies from Kenya found after entering the EU — 6 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 83%, company's own check 17%.
Show the numbers
| Year | Total | Information notifications |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 6 | 6 |
| 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 0 | 0 |
- 2022.4960 info: attentionToo high content of methamidophos, acephate and chlorpyrifos in chilies from Kenya Notified by Germany. At the EU border, not on the market, re-dispatched or destroyed. Result 0,09 (limit 0,01 mg/kg - ppm). acephatechlorfenapyrchlorpyrifosmethamidophos
- 2022.4682 info: attentionMaximum levels exceeded for various pesticides in green chillies from Kenya Notified by Germany. At the EU border. Result 0,43 (limit 0,01 mg/kg - ppm). acephatecarbendazimhexaconazolemethamidophos+1 more
- 2022.4243 info: attentionUnauthorized substance procymidone in chilies from Kenya Notified by Germany. At the EU border, re-dispatched or destroyed. Result 0,23 (limit 0,01 mg/kg - ppm). procymidone
- 2022.3456 info: attentionResidue level above mrl in and exploitation ARfD by methamidophos in fresh green chilies from Kenya Notified by Germany. At the EU border, not on the market, re-dispatched or destroyed. Result 0,096. acephatemethamidophos
- 2022.2642 info: attentionMethamidophos and acephate in fresh chilli from Kenya Notified by Germany. At the EU border, not on the market, destroyed. Result 0,16 (limit 0,01 mg/kg - ppm). acephatemethamidophos
- 2022.0160 info: attentionSalmonella spp. in chilies from Kenya Notified by Germany. Company's own check, reached the market. Result Salmonella positiv. Salmonella spp.
Data and downloads
Download all 27 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 2026-10-08. To get new ones for Kenya by email, watch Kenya.
Kenya country report since 2020 — all notification types, not just border rejections →