United Kingdom — Herbs and Spices
United Kingdom received 2 RASFF border-rejection notifications in Herbs and Spices between 2023-Q3 and 2026-Q2. Volume is newly active in the last year. The most-cited issues are biphenyl, orthophenylphenol, and Salmonella. The list below gives each of these 4 rejections by date and RASFF reference, with the country that notified it and the hazard found; 1 carries the laboratory result and 2 say what happened to the consignment.
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Key figures
- What happened to rejected consignments, last 3 years
- Re-dispatched: 100%. About 1 tonnes in total. Source: RASFF Window notification records.
Quarterly rejections, last 12 quarters
Show the numbers
| Quarter | Notifications |
|---|---|
| 2023-Q3 | 1 |
| 2023-Q4 | 0 |
| 2024-Q1 | 0 |
| 2024-Q2 | 0 |
| 2024-Q3 | 0 |
| 2024-Q4 | 0 |
| 2025-Q1 | 0 |
| 2025-Q2 | 0 |
| 2025-Q3 | 0 |
| 2025-Q4 | 0 |
| 2026-Q1 | 0 |
| 2026-Q2 | 1 |
Recent rejections
- 2026.3221 Biphenyl and orthophenylphenol in organic Hebridean seaweed from the United Kingdom Notified by France. Re-dispatched. Result 0.11 ± 0.06 (limit 0,01 mg/kg - ppm). biphenylorthophenylphenol
- 2023.5543 Novel food non autorizzato foglie di fieno greco (Trigonella foenum graecum) //unauthorized novel food fenugreek leaves (Trigonella foenum graecum) dispatched from the United Kingdom Notified by Italy.
- 2021.3660 Salmonella in Garam Masala spice mix from UK Notified by Finland. Salmonella
- 2021.3146 unauthorized novel foods in spice blend garam masala from the United Kingdom Notified by Spain. Re-dispatched.
Found on the EU market: alerts and information notifications
Besides border rejections, 16 notifications since 2020 concerned herbs and spices from United Kingdom found after entering the EU — 10 alerts, 6 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 50%, official control on the market 31%, consumer complaint or illness 6%, monitoring or surveillance sample 6%, other 6%. 7 led to a recall from consumers.
Show the numbers
| Year | Total | Alerts | Information notifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 2022 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2023 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 2024 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 2026 to date | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- 2025.9077 info: attentionRecall of dried sage due to choking risk from large pieces of stalks, bark and blue plastic Notified by Ireland. Consumer complaint or illness, not on the market.
- 2025.4717 alertElevated ochratoxin A (64.8 ± 22.0 µg/kg) in extra hot chilli powder Notified by Ireland. Monitoring or surveillance sample, reached the market. Result 64.8 ± 22.0 (limit 20 µg/kg - ppb). ochratoxin A
- 2025.4133 alertEthylene oxide in spice mix from the United Kingdom Notified by Germany. Official control on the market, reached the market. Result 0,28 mg. ethylene oxide
- 2025.3701 alertMOAH in Madras Curry Powder from India Notified by Netherlands. Company's own check, reached the market. Result 19 (limit 1.0 mg/kg - ppm). mineral oil
- 2024.2295 alertChlorpyrifos in Cumin powder Notified by Netherlands. Company's own check, reached the market. Result 0,16 ±0.080 (limit 0,01 mg/kg - ppm). chlorpyrifos
- 2024.0302 info: attentionPesticide residues including chlorpyrifos in cumin powder from the United Kingdom Notified by Czechia. Official control on the market, reached the market. Result 1,1 (limit 0,05 mg/kg - ppm). Imidacloprideacetamipridcarbendazimchlorpyrifos+7 more
- 2023.6011 alertETO in mix of powdered spices Notified by France. Company's own check, reached the market. ethylene oxide
- 2023.3053 info: attentionElevated levels of lead in Chilli Flakes Notified by Ireland. Official control on the market, reached the market. Result 1.40 ± 0.08 (limit 0.60 mg/kg - ppm). lead
- 2023.2370 info: attentionPesticides in black garlic powder Notified by Netherlands. Company's own check. Result 0,80 (limit 0,6 mg/kg - ppm). pesticide residues
- 2022.4036 info: attentionAflatoxine and Ochratoxine in Nootmuskaat Notified by Netherlands. Company's own check, re-dispatched. Result 9,3 (limit 5 µg/kg - ppb). Aflatoxin B1aflatoxin totalochratoxin A
Data and downloads
Download all 20 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 2026-04-15. To get new ones for United Kingdom by email, watch United Kingdom.
United Kingdom country report since 2020 — all notification types, not just border rejections →