Nigeria in RASFF, 2020–2025

← All origin reports Nigeria: border rejections, last 3 years →

Nigeria was the origin of 301 of 25,645 EU food notifications in 2020–2025 (1.2%), ranking 20th of 160 origins. 85.4% concerned nuts, nut products and seeds; 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).

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By year

YearNotifications Share of EU totalRank among origins
202031 0.9%21
202123 0.5%34
202275 1.9%14
202382 1.9%15
202445 0.9%22
202545 0.9%26
2020–2025301 1.2%20

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

Type2020202120222023202420252020–2025Change
Border rejection border rejections →
Stopped at the EU's external border; the consignment was not let in.
221375743533 252 (83.7%) +50%
Alert
A serious risk in a product on the EU market, needing rapid action.
790323 24 (8.0%) —
Information for attention
A risk found, but the product is not on other members' markets, so they need not act rapidly.
210558 21 (7.0%) —
Information for follow-up
A risk in a product on, or possibly on, other members' markets; follow-up needed, not rapid action.
000031 4 (1.3%) —

How problems were found

Found by2020202120222023202420252020–2025Change
At the EU border 271475773836 267 (88.7%) +33%
Official control on the market 260544 21 (7.0%) —
Company's own check 130031 8 (2.7%) —
Consumer complaint or illness 100002 3 (1.0%) —
Monitoring or surveillance sample 000002 2 (0.7%) new

Did it reach the EU market?

Of the notifications whose record says either way, 15.1% 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.

YearReached the marketStopped beforeNot statedShare reached
2020922029.0%
2021814136.4%
202207500.0%
202387409.8%
20241035022.2%
20251033223.3%

Distributed to

Country2020202120222023202420252020–2025Change
Germany 283464 27 —
Greece 1100421 18 —
Ireland 202734 18 —
Belgium 151333 16 —
Netherlands 340323 15 —
Poland 330221 11 —
France 140203 10 —
United Kingdom 910000 10 —
Austria 020223 9 —
Finland 020223 9 —

What was done

A notification can record several actions; each is counted once per notification, so shares can add up to more than 100%.

Action2020202120222023202420252020–2025Change
Treated, relabelled or diverted 2062622822 176 (58.5%) —
Detained or held under seal 859268 38 (12.6%) —
Authorities or operators informed 651456 27 (9.0%) —
Re-dispatched 890513 26 (8.6%) —
Withdrawn from the market 120456 18 (6.0%) —
Recalled from consumers 260423 17 (5.6%) —
Not stated 312422 14 (4.7%) —
Destroyed 712103 14 (4.7%) —
Re-dispatched or destroyed 002213 8 (2.7%) —
Reinforced checks ordered 100000 1 (0.3%) —

Consumer recalls by year

YearRecallsShare of notifications
202026.5%
2021626.1%
202200.0%
202344.9%
202424.4%
202536.7%

Rejections against import tonnes, by product

Border rejections over the last three years, measured against EU import tonnes of the same product from Nigeria. 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.

ProductBorder rejections1 rejection perRankTypical rejected lot
Sesame105674 t2 of 5—

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

Category2020202120222023202420252020–2025Change
Nuts, Nut Products and Seeds border rejections →
Groundnut / peanut, Other, Sesame
212167754033 257 (85.4%) +57%
Herbs and Spices 322304 14 (4.7%) —
Fruits and Vegetables 400105 10 (3.3%) —
Non-Alcoholic Beverages 000122 5 (1.7%) —
Other Food Product / Mixed border rejections → 102001 4 (1.3%) —
Cereals and Bakery Products 001200 3 (1.0%) —
Meat and Meat Products (Other Than Poultry) 003000 3 (1.0%) —
Fish and Fish Products 200000 2 (0.7%) —
Cocoa and Cocoa Preparations, Coffee and Tea 000010 1 (0.3%) —
Fats and Oils 000010 1 (0.3%) —
Prepared Dishes and Snacks 000010 1 (0.3%) —

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 class2020202120222023202420252020–2025Change
Pathogenic micro-organisms 91468372426 178 (59.1%) —
Mycotoxins 941324 23 (7.6%) —
Pesticide residues 231141 12 (4.0%) —
Food additives and flavourings 000122 5 (1.7%) —
Composition 210000 3 (1.0%) —
Biological contaminants 100100 2 (0.7%) —
Allergens 000100 1 (0.3%) —
Environmental pollutants 000010 1 (0.3%) —
Industrial contaminants 000010 1 (0.3%) —
Metals 001000 1 (0.3%) —
Non-pathogenic micro-organisms 000100 1 (0.3%) —
No hazard recorded 814371112 73 (24.3%) —

By risk level

Risk decision2020202120222023202420252020–2025Change
Serious 222172422631 214 (71.1%) +41%
Potentially serious 000132 6 (2.0%) —
Potential risk 0002343 30 (10.0%) —
Not serious 41116129 43 (14.3%) —
Undecided 512000 8 (2.7%) —

Most-cited substances

Labels RASFF records for one substance are merged (e.g. chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-ethyl); chemically distinct compounds stay apart.

Pesticide residues

Substance2020202120222023202420252020–2025Change
chlorpyrifos
Nuts, Nut Products and Seeds
011111 5 —
chlorate
Nuts, Nut Products and Seeds
000040 4 —
ethylene oxide
Nuts, Nut Products and Seeds
120000 3 —
acephate 100000 1 —
cypermethrin 100000 1 —
fipronil 000001 1 new
imidacloprid 000001 1 new
methamidophos 100000 1 —
thiamethoxam 000001 1 new

Other hazards

Substance2020202120222023202420252020–2025Change
salmonella
Nuts, Nut Products and Seeds, Other Food Product / Mixed
91368382326 177 —
aflatoxins
Nuts, Nut Products and Seeds
941324 23 —
colour E 110 - sunset yellow fcf too high content 000122 5 —
orange II 210000 3 —
cyanide 100100 2 —
3-monochlor-1,2-propanediol (3-mcpd) 000010 1 —
arsenic
Other Food Product / Mixed
001000 1 —
bacillus cereus presumptive 010000 1 —
glycidyl esters 000010 1 —
lead
Other Food Product / Mixed
001000 1 —

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 September; Alerts peak in February; Information notifications peak in March.

By notification type

TypeJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecPeak
Border rejections121716182016172748212812September
Alerts241111233231February
Information notifications245440100131March

By hazard class

Hazard classJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecPeak
Pathogenic micro-organisms1212151411812233415166September
Mycotoxins043031222222February
Pesticide residues142000201011February
Food additives and flavourings000210000011April
Composition000100100100April

Notifying member states

Member state2020202120222023202420252020–2025Change
Greece 3861653122 190 —
Germany 274333 22 —
Ireland 102632 14 —
Poland 320512 13 —
United Kingdom 1300000 13 −100%
Spain 105104 11 —
Belgium 421011 9 —
Netherlands 211040 8 —
Italy 010112 5 —
European Commission 000102 3 —

Current EU check frequencies

Reg. (EU) 2019/1793 sets how often consignments of these products from Nigeria are opened at the EU border.

ProductHazardChecksAnnex
Prepared fruit and nutsSalmonella50%II
SesameSalmonella50%II

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 "Nigeria food safety record, 2020–2025: EU RASFF", RASFF Trends, 2026-11-08, https://rasff.fruit-risk.com/reports/nigeria.html.