China in RASFF, 2020–2025
← All origin reports China: border rejections, last 3 years →
China was the origin of 1,066 of 25,645 EU food notifications in 2020–2025 (4.2%), ranking 7th of 160 origins. 18.4% concerned fruits and vegetables; the most-cited hazard class was pesticide residues, and the most-cited substance chlorpyrifos.
Food only (feed and food contact materials excluded), all notification types — border rejections, alerts and information notifications — validated 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2025. Download every table (CSV).
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By year
| Year | Notifications | Share of EU total | Rank among origins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 118 | 3.4% | 11 |
| 2021 | 159 | 3.8% | 10 |
| 2022 | 157 | 4.0% | 7 |
| 2023 | 175 | 4.1% | 9 |
| 2024 | 235 | 4.8% | 5 |
| 2025 | 222 | 4.5% | 7 |
| 2020–2025 | 1,066 | 4.2% | 7 |
Year links open that year's border rejections, entry by entry.
Tables below show each year 2020–2025; cells are shaded against their row's own peak. Change compares 2025 with 2020 and is shown only where 2020 had at least 10 notifications ("new" where it had none). RASFF Window's data starts on 23 January 2020.
By notification type
| Type | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Border rejection border rejections → Stopped at the EU's external border; the consignment was not let in. |
60 | 71 | 68 | 84 | 79 | 77 | 439 (41.2%) | +28% |
| Alert A serious risk in a product on the EU market, needing rapid action. |
31 | 41 | 34 | 32 | 57 | 54 | 249 (23.4%) | +74% |
| Information for attention A risk found, but the product is not on other members' markets, so they need not act rapidly. |
20 | 28 | 32 | 31 | 55 | 49 | 215 (20.2%) | +145% |
| Information for follow-up A risk in a product on, or possibly on, other members' markets; follow-up needed, not rapid action. |
7 | 19 | 23 | 28 | 44 | 42 | 163 (15.3%) | — |
How problems were found
Details available for 1,065 of 1,066 notifications.
| Found by | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At the EU border | 63 | 78 | 80 | 94 | 90 | 88 | 493 (46.3%) | +40% |
| Official control on the market | 29 | 30 | 32 | 48 | 92 | 50 | 281 (26.4%) | +72% |
| Company's own check | 17 | 43 | 34 | 26 | 27 | 53 | 200 (18.8%) | +212% |
| Consumer complaint or illness | 5 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 15 | 5 | 42 (3.9%) | — |
| Monitoring or surveillance sample | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 11 | 27 (2.5%) | — |
| Other | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 22 (2.1%) | — |
Did it reach the EU market?
Of the notifications whose record says either way, 54.6% concerned a product that had been placed on the market; the rest were stopped before it. RASFF records whether a product was on sale, not whether anyone bought it.
Details available for 1,065 of 1,066 notifications.
| Year | Reached the market | Stopped before | Not stated | Share reached |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 52 | 61 | 5 | 46.0% |
| 2021 | 74 | 68 | 17 | 52.1% |
| 2022 | 76 | 71 | 10 | 51.7% |
| 2023 | 73 | 87 | 14 | 45.6% |
| 2024 | 143 | 83 | 9 | 63.3% |
| 2025 | 123 | 79 | 20 | 60.9% |
Distributed to
| Country | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 15 | 36 | 41 | 40 | 62 | 58 | 252 | +287% |
| Netherlands | 19 | 37 | 32 | 32 | 48 | 53 | 221 | +179% |
| France | 11 | 28 | 29 | 19 | 40 | 47 | 174 | +327% |
| Belgium | 12 | 23 | 26 | 24 | 36 | 34 | 155 | +183% |
| Italy | 6 | 15 | 16 | 22 | 44 | 27 | 130 | — |
| Austria | 6 | 16 | 23 | 21 | 36 | 26 | 128 | — |
| Poland | 14 | 19 | 16 | 19 | 28 | 32 | 128 | +129% |
| Spain | 9 | 23 | 18 | 16 | 21 | 32 | 119 | — |
| Finland | 9 | 16 | 21 | 13 | 23 | 21 | 103 | — |
| Denmark | 4 | 20 | 22 | 12 | 23 | 20 | 101 | — |
What was done
A notification can record several actions; each is counted once per notification, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
| Action | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Authorities or operators informed | 26 | 46 | 59 | 42 | 84 | 95 | 352 (33.1%) | +265% |
| Withdrawn from the market | 21 | 38 | 37 | 47 | 96 | 77 | 316 (29.7%) | +267% |
| Detained or held under seal | 30 | 46 | 49 | 35 | 79 | 53 | 292 (27.4%) | +77% |
| Recalled from consumers | 15 | 21 | 27 | 25 | 47 | 33 | 168 (15.8%) | +120% |
| Destroyed | 10 | 32 | 7 | 17 | 22 | 31 | 119 (11.2%) | +210% |
| Re-dispatched | 23 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 14 | 30 | 97 (9.1%) | +30% |
| Re-dispatched or destroyed | 0 | 0 | 17 | 30 | 18 | 22 | 87 (8.2%) | — |
| Not stated | 12 | 13 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 65 (6.1%) | +8% |
| Treated, relabelled or diverted | 8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 31 (2.9%) | — |
| Reinforced checks ordered | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 28 (2.6%) | — |
| Released to the market | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 (0.3%) | — |
Consumer recalls by year
| Year | Recalls | Share of notifications |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 15 | 12.7% |
| 2021 | 21 | 13.2% |
| 2022 | 27 | 17.2% |
| 2023 | 25 | 14.4% |
| 2024 | 47 | 20.0% |
| 2025 | 33 | 14.9% |
Rejections against import tonnes, by product
Border rejections over the last three years, measured against EU import tonnes of the same product from China. A count alone misleads, because lots differ in size between origins and products. The last column is the typical rejected lot, from the member states that record the whole lot.
| Product | Border rejections | 1 rejection per | Rank | Typical rejected lot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groundnut / peanut | 31 | 5,018 t | 4 of 5 | — |
| Rice | 24 | 9,564 t | 1 of 3 | — |
Rank is among origins shipping the same product to the EU, highest rejection rate first. EU import quantities 2022–2024 (FAOSTAT). Lot weights come from RASFF border rejections since 2020, counted only where the notifying member state records whole lots rather than single packages; the figure in brackets is how many.
By food category
| Category | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fruits and Vegetables border rejections → Berries & grapes, Citrus, Other, Other vegetables, Peppers & chilies, Stone fruit |
18 | 29 | 31 | 37 | 35 | 46 | 196 (18.4%) | +156% |
| Herbs and Spices border rejections → | 12 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 32 | 113 (10.6%) | +167% |
| Cocoa and Cocoa Preparations, Coffee and Tea border rejections → | 11 | 15 | 18 | 14 | 29 | 23 | 110 (10.3%) | +109% |
| Dietetic Foods, Food Supplements and Fortified Foods border rejections → | 17 | 12 | 17 | 16 | 10 | 29 | 101 (9.5%) | +71% |
| Nuts, Nut Products and Seeds border rejections → Groundnut / peanut, Other, Other nuts & seeds, Sesame, Sunflower seeds, Walnut |
17 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 22 | 18 | 85 (8.0%) | +6% |
| Other Food Product / Mixed border rejections → | 8 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 21 | 11 | 79 (7.4%) | — |
| Fish and Fish Products border rejections → Other, Other fish/seafood, Salmon, Squid & octopus, Tuna |
10 | 16 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 58 (5.4%) | −10% |
| Cereals and Bakery Products border rejections → Bakery & biscuits, Other, Rice, Wheat & flour |
9 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 13 | 54 (5.1%) | — |
| Confectionery border rejections → | 5 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 16 | 6 | 49 (4.6%) | — |
| Prepared Dishes and Snacks | 1 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 34 | 1 | 48 (4.5%) | — |
| Food Additives and Flavourings border rejections → | 3 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 35 (3.3%) | — |
| Poultry Meat and Poultry Meat Products | 1 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 5 | 2 | 31 (2.9%) | — |
| Soups, Broths, Sauces and Condiments | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 23 (2.2%) | — |
| Food Contact Materials border rejections → | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 15 (1.4%) | — |
| Crustaceans and Products Thereof | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 12 (1.1%) | — |
| Cephalopods and Products Thereof | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 (1.0%) | — |
| Non-Alcoholic Beverages border rejections → | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 11 (1.0%) | — |
| Meat and Meat Products (Other Than Poultry) border rejections → Other, Pork, Sheep & goat |
1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 (0.8%) | — |
| Honey and Royal Jelly | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 (0.8%) | — |
| Eggs and Egg Products | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 (0.6%) | — |
| Fats and Oils | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 (0.5%) | — |
| Milk and Milk Products | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 (0.3%) | — |
| Ices and Desserts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 (0.2%) | — |
| Animal By-Products | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.1%) | — |
| Bivalve Molluscs and Products Thereof | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.1%) | — |
By hazard class
A notification citing hazards of two classes counts once in each, so rows can add up to more than the total.
| Hazard class | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pesticide residues | 24 | 56 | 56 | 53 | 61 | 50 | 300 (28.1%) | +108% |
| Mycotoxins | 19 | 9 | 5 | 11 | 19 | 16 | 79 (7.4%) | −16% |
| Pathogenic micro-organisms | 12 | 6 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 64 (6.0%) | +0% |
| Composition | 4 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 20 | 10 | 61 (5.7%) | — |
| Metals | 2 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 3 | 19 | 48 (4.5%) | — |
| Allergens | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 7 | 38 (3.6%) | — |
| Food additives and flavourings | 2 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 4 | 36 (3.4%) | — |
| Environmental pollutants | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 31 (2.9%) | — |
| Genetically modified | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 31 (2.9%) | — |
| Fraud investigation | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 26 (2.4%) | — |
| Industrial contaminants | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 13 (1.2%) | — |
| Migration | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 11 (1.0%) | — |
| Chemical contamination (other) | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 (0.9%) | — |
| Radiation | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 (0.9%) | — |
| Biological contaminants | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 (0.7%) | — |
| Gmo / novel food | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 (0.7%) | — |
| Not determined (other) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 (0.7%) | — |
| Residues of veterinary medicinal products | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 (0.6%) | — |
| Parasitic infestation | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 (0.5%) | — |
| Faulty labelling or claims | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 (0.4%) | — |
| Natural toxins (other) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 (0.3%) | — |
| Novel food | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 (0.3%) | — |
| Lacking or improper documentation or controls | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 (0.2%) | — |
| Foreign bodies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.1%) | — |
| Microbial contaminants (other) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.1%) | — |
| Non-pathogenic micro-organisms | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 (0.1%) | new |
| Organoleptic aspects | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.1%) | — |
| Tses | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (0.1%) | — |
| No hazard recorded | 26 | 44 | 43 | 49 | 54 | 72 | 288 (27.0%) | +177% |
By risk level
| Risk decision | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serious | 61 | 69 | 74 | 81 | 94 | 72 | 451 (42.3%) | +18% |
| Potentially serious | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 45 | 46 | 112 (10.5%) | — |
| Potential risk | 0 | 0 | 1 | 38 | 50 | 74 | 163 (15.3%) | — |
| Not serious | 15 | 28 | 15 | 22 | 40 | 24 | 144 (13.5%) | +60% |
| No risk | 4 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 33 (3.1%) | — |
| Undecided | 38 | 57 | 59 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 163 (15.3%) | −100% |
Most-cited substances
Labels RASFF records for one substance are merged (e.g. chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-ethyl); chemically distinct compounds stay apart.
Pesticide residues
Other hazards
By month
Pooled across 2020–2025. Each row is shaded against its own peak, so its season shows whatever its size. Border rejections peak in November; Alerts peak in October; Information notifications peak in March.
By notification type
| Type | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Border rejections | 37 | 31 | 37 | 25 | 21 | 30 | 39 | 40 | 49 | 37 | 57 | 36 | November |
| Alerts | 21 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 23 | 29 | 21 | 23 | October |
| Information notifications | 27 | 29 | 46 | 33 | 23 | 29 | 31 | 26 | 31 | 45 | 29 | 29 | March |
By hazard class
| Hazard class | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pesticide residues | 28 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 27 | 20 | 12 | 32 | 35 | 45 | 28 | November |
| Mycotoxins | 9 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 3 | March |
| Pathogenic micro-organisms | 8 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 3 | August |
| Composition | 4 | 4 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 5 | October |
| Metals | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | March |
Notifying member states
| Member state | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 22 | 25 | 19 | 39 | 48 | 35 | 188 | +59% |
| Italy | 8 | 14 | 9 | 22 | 52 | 16 | 121 | — |
| Germany | 8 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 25 | 120 | — |
| Spain | 12 | 26 | 26 | 11 | 15 | 21 | 111 | +75% |
| Poland | 11 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 69 | +100% |
| Belgium | 3 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 61 | — |
| France | 5 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 16 | 58 | — |
| Finland | 5 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 42 | — |
| Denmark | 3 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 6 | 39 | — |
| Sweden | 0 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 27 | — |
Current EU check frequencies
Reg. (EU) 2019/1793 sets how often consignments of these products from China are opened at the EU border.
| Product | Hazard | Checks | Annex |
|---|---|---|---|
| Margarine and blends | Cereulide toxin | 50% | II |
| Other vegetable oils | Cereulide toxin | 50% | II |
| Tea | Pesticide residues | 20% | I |
| Groundnut / Peanut | Aflatoxins | 10% | I |
| Groundnut oilcake | Aflatoxins | 10% | I |
| Jams and fruit purées | Aflatoxins | 10% | I |
| Natural polymers | Pesticide residues | 10% | II |
| Pepper and capsicum spices | Salmonella | 10% | I |
| Prepared fruit and nuts | Aflatoxins | 10% | I |
Method
Source: RASFF Window, the European Commission's public notification database; every food notification validated in 2020–2025.
A notification naming several origins counts once for each, so origin shares can add up to more than 100%.
Hazard classes are the ones RASFF attaches to each hazard. A hazard without a class is "unclassified"; a notification exported without any hazard is "no hazard recorded".
Counts describe what EU authorities found and reported. They depend on how often each product is checked, so they are not a rate of unsafe food.
Licence: CC-BY-4.0. Cite as "China food safety record, 2020–2025: EU RASFF", RASFF Trends, 2026-11-08, https://rasff.fruit-risk.com/reports/china.html.