South Korea — All Categories
South Korea received 8 RASFF border-rejection notifications across all food categories between 2023-Q4 and 2026-Q3. Volume peaked at 3 in 2024-Q1, with the trend rising sharply year-on-year. The most-cited issues are ethylene oxide, glycidyl esters, and 2-chloroethanol.
Key figures
- What happened to rejected consignments, last 3 years
- Held, final fate not recorded: 38%; Not stated: 25%; Destroyed: 12%; Re-dispatched: 12%; Re-dispatched or destroyed: 12%. Source: RASFF Window notification records.
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Quarterly rejections, last 12 quarters
Show the numbers
| Quarter | Notifications |
|---|---|
| 2023-Q4 | 0 |
| 2024-Q1 | 3 |
| 2024-Q2 | 0 |
| 2024-Q3 | 0 |
| 2024-Q4 | 0 |
| 2025-Q1 | 1 |
| 2025-Q2 | 0 |
| 2025-Q3 | 0 |
| 2025-Q4 | 1 |
| 2026-Q1 | 0 |
| 2026-Q2 | 0 |
| 2026-Q3 | 3 |
By year
| Year | Notifications |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 3 |
| 2025 | 2 |
| 2024 | 3 |
| 2023 | 4 |
| 2022 | 10 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2020 | 1 |
By category, last 156 weeks
| Category | Rejections | Per $1B EU imports | Most-cited hazard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prepared Dishes and Snacks | 2 | — | glycidyl esters |
| Other Food Product / Mixed | 2 | — | genetically modified |
| Alcoholic Beverages | 1 | — | — |
| Dietetic Foods, Food Supplements and Fortified Foods | 1 | — | — |
| Fish and Fish Products | 1 | — | — |
| Cocoa and Cocoa Preparations, Coffee and Tea | 1 | — | chlorpyrifos |
Recent rejections
- 2026.7833 Unauthorized use of E338 and E516 in BeerAlcoholic Beverages. Notified by Portugal. Destroyed.
- 2026.6059 Glycidyl esters in instant noodlesPrepared Dishes and Snacks. Notified by Latvia. Re-dispatched or destroyed. Result 2229+/-557 (limit 1000 µg/kg - ppb). glycidyl esters
- 2026.6058 Glycidyl esters in instant noodlesPrepared Dishes and Snacks. Notified by Latvia. Result 266+/-95,8 (limit 1000 µg/kg - ppb). glycidyl esters
- 2025.7909 Unauthorised substances gardenia yellow (E 164) and pullulan (E 1204) in food supplements from South KoreaDietetic Foods, Food Supplements and Fortified Foods. Notified by Slovenia. Re-dispatched.
- 2025.0446 Pescado con larvas procedente de Corea del Sur //Fish with parasites from South KoreaFish and Fish Products. Notified by Spain.
- 2024.2345 Possible import of prohibited frozen veterinairy products from South KoreaOther Food Product / Mixed. Notified by Netherlands.
- 2024.0746 Presencia de Organismos Modificados Genéticamente no identificados en preparaciones alimenticias de Corea del Sur. Presence of unidentified Genetically Modified Organisms in food preparations from South Korea.Other Food Product / Mixed. Notified by Spain. Result 150 (limit No detectado. Not detected. null). genetically modified
- 2024.0190 Unauthorised pesticide residue (chlorpyrifos) in black tea from South Korea.Cocoa and Cocoa Preparations, Coffee and Tea. Notified by Finland. Result 0,035 (limit 0,01 mg/kg - ppm). chlorpyrifos
- 2023.2974 Label / Document mismatch in instant noodles from South KoreaCereals and Bakery Products. Notified by Slovenia.
- 2023.2973 Label / Document mismatch in instant noodles from South KoreaCereals and Bakery Products. Notified by Slovenia.
- 2023.2700 Sildenafil in food supplementsDietetic Foods, Food Supplements and Fortified Foods. Notified by Croatia. Re-dispatched. Result 9. sildenafil
- 2023.0826 unauthorised food additive sodium polyacrylate and unauthorised use of colour E 171 - titanium dioxide in food supplement from South KoreaDietetic Foods, Food Supplements and Fortified Foods. Notified by Slovenia.
- 2022.3607 Rotura de la cadena de frío en atún congelado de República de Corea; Poor temperature control in frozen tuna from South KoreaFish and Fish Products. Notified by Spain.
- 2022.3368 Exceedance of the maximum level of ethylene oxide in instant noodles, seasoning sauce and spice powder from Republic of Korea Prepared Dishes and Snacks. Notified by Germany. Re-dispatched or destroyed. Result Noodles: 0,027 +/- 0,14; Sauce: 0,28 +/- 0,14; Powder: 10,7 +/- 5,4 (limit 0,01 mg/kg - … ethylene oxide
- 2022.2648 absence of health certificate(s) for noodles from South KoreaCereals and Bakery Products. Notified by Spain.
- 2022.1935 Exceedance of the maximum level of ethylene oxide in Vegetable-mushroom flakes in instant noodles from Republik of KoreaPrepared Dishes and Snacks. Notified by Germany. Destroyed. Result 1,078 +/- 0,539 (limit 0,01 mg/kg - ppm). ethylene oxide
- 2022.1620 Ethylene oxide (0,17 ± 0,085 mg/kg) in instant noodle soup from South KoreaSoups, Broths, Sauces and Condiments. Notified by Poland. Destroyed. Result 0,17 ± 0,085. 2-chloroethanol
- 2022.1429 Insufficient documentation accompanying the consignment of food suplement from South Korea Dietetic Foods, Food Supplements and Fortified Foods. Notified by Czechia. Re-dispatched.
- 2022.1414 2-chloroethanol in instant noodle from South KoreaOther Food Product / Mixed. Notified by Sweden. Result 0,64 (limit 0,02 mg/kg - ppm). 2-chloroethanol
- 2022.1119 Ethylene oxide in noodles from South KoreaOther Food Product / Mixed. Notified by Norway. Destroyed. Result 0,35 (limit 0,05 mg/kg - ppm). ethylene oxide
Found on the EU market: alerts and information notifications
Besides border rejections, 77 notifications since 2020 concerned products from South Korea found after entering the EU — 35 alerts, 42 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 55%, company's own check 18%, at the EU border 16%, consumer complaint or illness 9%, monitoring or surveillance sample 1%, other 1%. 21 led to a recall from consumers.
Show the numbers
| Year | Total | Alerts | Information notifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| 2021 | 14 | 8 | 6 |
| 2022 | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| 2023 | 9 | 5 | 4 |
| 2024 | 12 | 3 | 9 |
| 2025 | 11 | 2 | 9 |
| 2026 to date | 18 | 8 | 10 |
- 2026.7167 alertjelly confectionery in mini cups - unauthorized additives Notified by Sweden. Official control on the market, reached the market.
- 2026.6006 alertHigh iodine content in seaweed snacks from South Korea, via the Netherlands Notified by Germany. Official control on the market, reached the market. Result 42,6 ± 7,7 (limit 20 mg/kg - ppm). iodine
- 2026.5983 info: follow-upPotential spoilage in cake from South Korea Notified by Netherlands. Company's own check, reached the market.
- 2026.5749 info: attentionConsignment possibly subject to veterinary checks Notified by Netherlands. At the EU border.
- 2026.4619 info: follow-upConsignment sauce from South Korea possibly subject to veterinary checks Notified by Netherlands. At the EU border, reached the market.
- 2026.5196 alertNorovirus on frozen oysters from South Korea Notified by Netherlands. Company's own check, reached the market. Result Present (limit Absent null). norovirus
- 2026.4574 alertallergen information for milk is missing from the label in popcorn Notified by Netherlands. Company's own check, reached the market.
- 2026.4245 info: follow-upConsignment frozen fried bean curd skipped veterinary controls in Border Control Post. Notified by Netherlands. At the EU border, reached the market.
- 2026.4123 info: attentionNorovirus in nori (roasted seaweed) Notified by Sweden. Consumer complaint or illness, reached the market, destroyed. Result detected on 100 cm². norovirus
- 2026.3834 info: follow-upMold in various rice cake cups from Korea via the Netherlands Notified by Finland. Consumer complaint or illness, reached the market.
Recent weeks
| Week | Border rejections |
|---|---|
| 2026-W41 | 0 |
| 2026-W40 | 0 |
| 2026-W39 | 0 |
| 2026-W38 | 0 |
| 2026-W37 | 0 |
| 2026-W36 | 1 |
| 2026-W35 | 0 |
| 2026-W34 | 0 |
→ See all RASFF notifications for 2026-W41
Data and downloads
Download all 101 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 2026-09-04. To get new ones for South Korea by email, watch South Korea.
South Korea country report since 2020 — all notification types, not just border rejections →