Germany in RASFF, 2020–2025
Germany was the origin of 983 of 25,645 EU food notifications in 2020–2025 (3.8%), ranking 10th of 160 origins. 14.8% concerned dietetic foods, food supplements and fortified foods; the most-cited hazard class was pathogenic micro-organisms, and the most-cited substance salmonella.
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).
Exporting from Germany? Get an email when shipments from Germany are flagged or rejected at the EU border — before your buyers ask.
One email a week, and only when something matches. We'll send a confirmation link first; unsubscribe any time from the footer of any email.
By year
| Year | Notifications | Share of EU total | Rank among origins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 157 | 4.5% | 6 |
| 2021 | 214 | 5.1% | 7 |
| 2022 | 132 | 3.3% | 9 |
| 2023 | 127 | 3.0% | 11 |
| 2024 | 180 | 3.7% | 10 |
| 2025 | 173 | 3.5% | 10 |
| 2020–2025 | 983 | 3.8% | 10 |
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 Stopped at the EU's external border; the consignment was not let in. |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 (0.3%) | — |
| Alert A serious risk in a product on the EU market, needing rapid action. |
89 | 148 | 82 | 86 | 87 | 95 | 587 (59.7%) | +7% |
| Information for attention A risk found, but the product is not on other members' markets, so they need not act rapidly. |
25 | 23 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 126 (12.8%) | −16% |
| Information for follow-up A risk in a product on, or possibly on, other members' markets; follow-up needed, not rapid action. |
42 | 43 | 33 | 22 | 71 | 56 | 267 (27.2%) | +33% |
How problems were found
| Found by | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Company's own check | 78 | 124 | 53 | 59 | 84 | 80 | 478 (48.6%) | +3% |
| Official control on the market | 53 | 62 | 52 | 45 | 60 | 50 | 322 (32.8%) | −6% |
| Consumer complaint or illness | 23 | 22 | 22 | 18 | 33 | 33 | 151 (15.4%) | +43% |
| Other | 2 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 19 (1.9%) | — |
| Monitoring or surveillance sample | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 9 (0.9%) | — |
| At the EU border | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 (0.4%) | — |
Did it reach the EU market?
Of the notifications whose record says either way, 97.4% 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.
| Year | Reached the market | Stopped before | Not stated | Share reached |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 132 | 5 | 20 | 96.4% |
| 2021 | 186 | 2 | 26 | 98.9% |
| 2022 | 116 | 5 | 11 | 95.9% |
| 2023 | 114 | 1 | 12 | 99.1% |
| 2024 | 157 | 6 | 17 | 96.3% |
| 2025 | 149 | 4 | 20 | 97.4% |
Distributed to
| Country | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 79 | 136 | 78 | 77 | 92 | 82 | 544 | +4% |
| Austria | 64 | 82 | 45 | 53 | 57 | 41 | 342 | −36% |
| Netherlands | 42 | 82 | 38 | 42 | 47 | 54 | 305 | +29% |
| France | 39 | 69 | 28 | 25 | 32 | 33 | 226 | −15% |
| Belgium | 39 | 67 | 30 | 24 | 27 | 33 | 220 | −15% |
| Switzerland | 33 | 64 | 27 | 31 | 23 | 23 | 201 | −30% |
| Spain | 28 | 49 | 27 | 24 | 29 | 21 | 178 | −25% |
| Italy | 26 | 40 | 24 | 26 | 21 | 23 | 160 | −12% |
| Poland | 21 | 43 | 25 | 23 | 18 | 20 | 150 | −5% |
| Luxembourg | 28 | 41 | 25 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 147 | −32% |
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 | 64 | 92 | 68 | 74 | 104 | 96 | 498 (50.7%) | +50% |
| Withdrawn from the market | 58 | 98 | 67 | 70 | 86 | 81 | 460 (46.8%) | +40% |
| Recalled from consumers | 37 | 65 | 43 | 48 | 52 | 47 | 292 (29.7%) | +27% |
| Detained or held under seal | 11 | 22 | 16 | 8 | 17 | 13 | 87 (8.9%) | +18% |
| Not stated | 15 | 22 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 13 | 75 (7.6%) | −13% |
| Re-dispatched | 10 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 46 (4.7%) | +0% |
| Destroyed | 5 | 12 | 4 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 46 (4.7%) | — |
| Treated, relabelled or diverted | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 13 (1.3%) | — |
| Reinforced checks ordered | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 12 (1.2%) | — |
| Re-dispatched or destroyed | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 (0.7%) | — |
| Released to the market | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 (0.3%) | — |
Consumer recalls by year
| Year | Recalls | Share of notifications |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 37 | 23.6% |
| 2021 | 65 | 30.4% |
| 2022 | 43 | 32.6% |
| 2023 | 48 | 37.8% |
| 2024 | 52 | 28.9% |
| 2025 | 47 | 27.2% |
By food category
| Category | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dietetic Foods, Food Supplements and Fortified Foods | 9 | 40 | 26 | 16 | 28 | 26 | 145 (14.8%) | — |
| Cereals and Bakery Products | 24 | 17 | 14 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 120 (12.2%) | −4% |
| Meat and Meat Products (Other Than Poultry) | 23 | 22 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 17 | 94 (9.6%) | −26% |
| Poultry Meat and Poultry Meat Products | 20 | 14 | 9 | 6 | 18 | 18 | 85 (8.6%) | −10% |
| Other Food Product / Mixed | 4 | 20 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 17 | 69 (7.0%) | — |
| Nuts, Nut Products and Seeds | 26 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 66 (6.7%) | −69% |
| Herbs and Spices | 2 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 63 (6.4%) | — |
| Prepared Dishes and Snacks | 6 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 19 | 9 | 61 (6.2%) | — |
| Fruits and Vegetables | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 41 (4.2%) | — |
| Milk and Milk Products | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 39 (4.0%) | — |
| Food Additives and Flavourings | 5 | 24 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 35 (3.6%) | — |
| Cocoa and Cocoa Preparations, Coffee and Tea | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 6 | 34 (3.5%) | — |
| Confectionery | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 20 (2.0%) | — |
| Fish and Fish Products | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 20 (2.0%) | — |
| Fats and Oils | 3 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 19 (1.9%) | — |
| Non-Alcoholic Beverages | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 17 (1.7%) | — |
| Soups, Broths, Sauces and Condiments | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 16 (1.6%) | — |
| Alcoholic Beverages | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 (0.9%) | — |
| Ices and Desserts | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 8 (0.8%) | — |
| Eggs and Egg Products | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 (0.4%) | — |
| Wine | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 (0.4%) | — |
| Bivalve Molluscs and Products Thereof | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 (0.3%) | — |
| Crustaceans and Products Thereof | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 (0.3%) | — |
| Food Contact Materials | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 (0.2%) | — |
| Natural Mineral Waters | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 (0.2%) | — |
| Water for Human Consumption (Other) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 (0.2%) | — |
| Animal By-Products | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.1%) | — |
| Honey and Royal Jelly | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 (0.1%) | new |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathogenic micro-organisms | 33 | 39 | 27 | 23 | 38 | 44 | 204 (20.8%) | +33% |
| Pesticide residues | 33 | 67 | 19 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 133 (13.5%) | −85% |
| Composition | 5 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 39 (4.0%) | — |
| Mycotoxins | 4 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 37 (3.8%) | — |
| Natural toxins (other) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 32 (3.3%) | — |
| Allergens | 3 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 25 (2.5%) | — |
| Biological contaminants | 3 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 25 (2.5%) | — |
| Environmental pollutants | 2 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 22 (2.2%) | — |
| Heavy metals | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 21 (2.1%) | — |
| Novel food | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 15 (1.5%) | — |
| Industrial contaminants | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 13 (1.3%) | — |
| Non-pathogenic micro-organisms | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 13 (1.3%) | — |
| Foreign bodies | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 (1.1%) | — |
| Chemical contamination (other) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 9 (0.9%) | — |
| Labelling absent/incomplete/incorrect | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 (0.4%) | — |
| Organoleptic aspects | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 (0.4%) | — |
| Residues of veterinary medicinal products | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 (0.4%) | — |
| Food additives and flavourings | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 (0.3%) | — |
| Genetically modified | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 (0.2%) | — |
| Gmo / novel food | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 (0.2%) | — |
| Packaging defective / incorrect | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 (0.2%) | — |
| Migration | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (0.1%) | — |
| Not determined (other) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.1%) | — |
| No hazard recorded | 56 | 66 | 55 | 48 | 76 | 73 | 374 (38.0%) | +30% |
By risk level
| Risk decision | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serious | 101 | 149 | 91 | 88 | 82 | 92 | 603 (61.3%) | −9% |
| Potentially serious | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 33 | 33 | 85 (8.6%) | — |
| Potential risk | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 46 | 32 | 90 (9.2%) | — |
| Not serious | 15 | 15 | 11 | 5 | 19 | 16 | 81 (8.2%) | +7% |
| No risk | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 (0.4%) | — |
| Undecided | 39 | 50 | 27 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 120 (12.2%) | −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
| Substance | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ethylene oxide | 27 | 63 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 103 | −100% |
| chlorpyrifos | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | — |
| anthraquinone | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | — |
| linuron | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | — |
| chlorate | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | — |
| imazalil | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | — |
| acetamiprid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — |
| aclonifen | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — |
| ametryn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — |
| biphenyl | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | — |
Other hazards
| Substance | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| salmonella | 25 | 28 | 20 | 15 | 23 | 28 | 139 | +12% |
| listeria monocytogenes | 4 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 37 | — |
| ochratoxin A | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 18 | — |
| aflatoxins | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 15 | — |
| tetrahydrocannabinol (thc) | 1 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 14 | — |
| gluten | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 12 | — |
| atropine | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 11 | — |
| escherichia coli shigatoxin-producing | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 11 | — |
| mineral oil | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 11 | — |
| pyrrolizidine alkaloids | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 11 | — |
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 January; Alerts peak in November; Information notifications peak in July.
By notification type
| Type | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Border rejections | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | January |
| Alerts | 33 | 41 | 64 | 46 | 31 | 36 | 56 | 51 | 49 | 54 | 67 | 59 | November |
| Information notifications | 15 | 36 | 37 | 29 | 37 | 28 | 43 | 37 | 29 | 37 | 31 | 34 | July |
By hazard class
| Hazard class | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathogenic micro-organisms | 8 | 14 | 28 | 14 | 18 | 13 | 19 | 16 | 23 | 21 | 15 | 15 | March |
| Pesticide residues | 8 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 21 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 23 | 23 | November |
| Composition | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4 | October |
| Mycotoxins | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | August |
| Natural toxins (other) | 3 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 3 | November |
Notifying member states
| Member state | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 61 | 116 | 61 | 64 | 72 | 73 | 447 | +20% |
| Netherlands | 15 | 18 | 13 | 20 | 19 | 24 | 109 | +60% |
| Belgium | 10 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 49 | −20% |
| Austria | 13 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 16 | 3 | 47 | −77% |
| Denmark | 6 | 11 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 45 | — |
| France | 3 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 38 | — |
| Poland | 4 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 9 | 36 | — |
| Italy | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 32 | −50% |
| Switzerland | 2 | 9 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 32 | — |
| Spain | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 28 | — |
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 "Germany food safety record, 2020–2025: EU RASFF", RASFF Trends, 2026-10-14, https://rasff.fruit-risk.com/reports/germany.html.