South Africa — All Categories
South Africa received 4 RASFF border-rejection notifications across all food categories between 2023-Q4 and 2026-Q3. Volume is newly active in the last year. The most-cited issues are colour E 110 - Sunset Yellow FCF, Aflatoxin B1, and aflatoxin total. The list below gives each of these 17 rejections by date and RASFF reference, with the country that notified it and the hazard found; 7 carry the laboratory result and 6 say what happened to the consignment.
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Key figures
- What happened to rejected consignments, last 3 years
- Held, final fate not recorded: 50%; Destroyed: 25%; Re-dispatched: 25%. Source: RASFF Window notification records.
Quarterly rejections, last 12 quarters
Show the numbers
| Quarter | Notifications |
|---|---|
| 2023-Q4 | 1 |
| 2024-Q1 | 1 |
| 2024-Q2 | 0 |
| 2024-Q3 | 0 |
| 2024-Q4 | 0 |
| 2025-Q1 | 0 |
| 2025-Q2 | 0 |
| 2025-Q3 | 0 |
| 2025-Q4 | 0 |
| 2026-Q1 | 1 |
| 2026-Q2 | 0 |
| 2026-Q3 | 1 |
By year
| Year | Notifications |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 |
| 2024 | 1 |
| 2023 | 4 |
| 2022 | 4 |
| 2021 | 4 |
| 2020 | 2 |
By category, last 156 weeks
| Category | Rejections | Per $1B EU imports | Most-cited hazard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fish and Fish Products | 2 | — | Anisakis simplex parasitic infestation with |
| Alcoholic Beverages | 1 | — | — |
| Pet Food | 1 | — | Salmonella |
Recent rejections
- 2026.6395 Rotura de cadena de frío en atún de Sudáfrica // Poor temperature control for South African tunaFish and Fish Products. Notified by Spain. Re-dispatched.
- 2026.1003 Unauthorized additives natamycin (E235) on the list of ingredients in spirits from South AfricaAlcoholic Beverages. Notified by Cyprus.
- 2024.0292 Anisakis simplex in frozen burbot (Genypterus capensis) fillet from SAFish and Fish Products. Notified by Poland. Destroyed. Anisakis simplex parasitic infestation with
- 2023.8958 Salmonella Muenchen in dog chews from South AfricaPet Food. Notified by Germany. Result S. Muenchen detected. Salmonella
- 2023.2000 improper health certificate(s) (labelled approval number does not match the one on the certificate) for frozen thornback skate wings (Raja clavata) from South AfricaFish and Fish Products. Notified by Portugal. Destroyed.
- 2023.1358 Pesticides residues of Procymidone in beans from CanadaFruits and Vegetables. Notified by Croatia. Re-dispatched. Result 0.062 (limit 0.01 mg/kg - ppm). procymidone
- 2023.0731 Marcado de identificación etiquetas no coincidente con CSO en merluzas de Sudáfrica // Identification tagging mismatched with Health Certificate tags on South African hakeFish and Fish Products. Notified by Spain.
- 2022.5813 Salmonella (presence /25g) in dog chews from South AfricaPet Food. Notified by Netherlands. Result Present (limit Not present /25g). Salmonella spp.
- 2022.3320 Unauthorized colours E110 & E122 and too high content of preservatives (sum of E200 & E210) in Tomato Sauce from South AfricaSoups, Broths, Sauces and Condiments. Notified by Cyprus. Result Detected (limit Not allowed in the specific category of food mg/kg - ppm). colour E 110 - Sunset Yellow FCFcolour E 122 - azorubine
- 2022.2161 Improper health certificate (invalid authority) in frozen tuna from South AfricaFish and Fish Products. Notified by Spain.
- 2022.0578 aflatoxin in South African groundnutsNuts, Nut Products and Seeds. Notified by Netherlands. Result 13 (limit 2 µg/kg - ppb). Aflatoxin B1aflatoxin total
- 2021.6734 aflatoxins in groundnut kernels from South AfricaNuts, Nut Products and Seeds. Notified by Netherlands. Re-dispatched. Result 50 (limit 2 µg/kg - ppb). Aflatoxin B1aflatoxin total
- 2021.5818 Unauthorised novel food in food supplement from South AfricaDietetic Foods, Food Supplements and Fortified Foods. Notified by Finland. novel food
- 2021.3568 improper health certificate(s) (identification on the product does not match the information from the official certificate) for frozen hake from South AfricaFish and Fish Products. Notified by Spain. Re-dispatched.
- 2021.3592 Batch numbers do not match with certificate in hake from South Africa // Lotes no coincidentes con el certificado, merluza de SudáfricaFish and Fish Products. Notified by Spain.
- 2020.4696 Too high content of colour E110 (Sunset Yellow) in Fanta Orange soft drink originating from South Africa.Non-Alcoholic Beverages. Notified by United Kingdom. Result 24 +/- 2 (limit 20 mg/l). colour E 110 - Sunset Yellow FCF
- 2020.1107 Rupture of the cold chain of frozen kingklipFish and Fish Products. Notified by Spain.
Found on the EU market: alerts and information notifications
Besides border rejections, 64 notifications since 2020 concerned products from South Africa found after entering the EU — 26 alerts, 38 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 48%, official control on the market 33%, at the EU border 8%, consumer complaint or illness 6%, monitoring or surveillance sample 5%. 15 led to a recall from consumers.
Show the numbers
| Year | Total | Alerts | Information notifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 8 | 5 | 3 |
| 2021 | 8 | 2 | 6 |
| 2022 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 2023 | 8 | 3 | 5 |
| 2024 | 13 | 5 | 8 |
| 2025 | 18 | 4 | 14 |
| 2026 to date | 7 | 5 | 2 |
- 2026.8707 alertPesticide residue in oranges from South Africa Notified by Belgium. At the EU border, reached the market. Result 0,20 ppm (limit 0,05 mg/kg - ppm). glufosinate
- 2026.4927 alertFenthion in kiwis from South Africa Notified by Netherlands. Company's own check, reached the market. Result 0.23 (limit 0.01 mg/kg - ppm). fenthion
- 2026.4533 info: attentionForeign object in raisins from South Africa via Turkey Notified by Norway. Consumer complaint or illness, reached the market.
- 2026.4289 alertFenthion in Kiwi from South Africa Notified by Netherlands. Company's own check, reached the market. Result 0.47 (limit 0.01 mg/kg - ppm). fenthion
- 2026.4199 alertGlass pieces in vanilla powder Notified by Sweden. Consumer complaint or illness, reached the market.
- 2026.3807 alertMethomyl on pears from South Africa Notified by Netherlands. Company's own check, reached the market. Result 0.025 (limit 0.01 mg/kg - ppm). methomyl
- 2026.3397 info: attentionGlycidyl esters in biscuit Notified by Denmark. Official control on the market, reached the market. Result 1710 (limit 1000 µg/kg - ppb). glycidyl esters
- 2025.8034 info: attentionUnauthorised substances (Buprofezin) in clementines from South Africa via Netherlands Notified by Denmark. Monitoring or surveillance sample, reached the market. Result 0.012 (limit 0.01 mg/kg - ppm). buprofezin
- 2025.7419 info: attentionChemical residues detected in lemons Notified by France. Company's own check, reached the market. Result 6.4 ±2.6 (limit 5.0 mg/kg - ppm). imazalil
- 2025.7321 info: attentionElevated benzalkonium chloride (0.35mg/kg) in wine from South Africa Notified by Ireland. Official control on the market, not on the market. Result 0.35 (limit 0.1 mg/kg - ppm). benzalkonium chloride
→ See all RASFF notifications for 2026-W42
Data and downloads
Download all 81 entries (CSV) — every notification behind this page, border rejections and those found on the market, with how each was found and what was done. Every entry is also listed by year above.
The file holds entries up to 2026-10-01. To get new ones for South Africa by email, watch South Africa.
South Africa country report since 2020 — all notification types, not just border rejections →