Uganda in RASFF, 2020–2025

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

Uganda was the origin of 116 of 25,645 EU food notifications in 2020–2025 (0.5%), ranking 41st of 160 origins. 56% concerned fruits and vegetables; the most-cited hazard class was pesticide residues, 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 Uganda? Get an email when shipments from Uganda are flagged or rejected at the EU border — before your buyers ask.

By year

YearNotifications Share of EU totalRank among origins
202010 0.3%43
202129 0.7%29
202227 0.7%28
202316 0.4%45
202418 0.4%45
202516 0.3%54
2020–2025116 0.5%41

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.
92522161710 99 (85.3%) —
Alert
A serious risk in a product on the EU market, needing rapid action.
032014 10 (8.6%) —
Information for attention
A risk found, but the product is not on other members' markets, so they need not act rapidly.
113002 7 (6.0%) —

How problems were found

Found by2020202120222023202420252020–2025Change
At the EU border 102624161811 105 (90.5%) +10%
Company's own check 022004 8 (6.9%) —
Official control on the market 011001 3 (2.6%) —

Did it reach the EU market?

Of the notifications whose record says either way, 14.5% 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
202016314.3%
2021325110.7%
2022322212.0%
202301600.0%
2024315016.7%
2025610037.5%

Distributed to

Country2020202120222023202420252020–2025Change
Germany 157114 19 —
Belgium 194013 18 —
Netherlands 075102 15 —
Switzerland 122310 9 —
France 023010 6 —
Finland 010030 4 —
Luxembourg 021010 4 —
United Kingdom 112000 4 —
Austria 002001 3 —
Denmark 002001 3 —

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
Destroyed 3138294 39 (33.6%) —
Detained or held under seal 147368 29 (25.0%) —
Authorities or operators informed 497113 25 (21.6%) —
Treated, relabelled or diverted 300634 16 (13.8%) —
Re-dispatched or destroyed 002400 6 (5.2%) —
Withdrawn from the market 022001 5 (4.3%) —
Not stated 121000 4 (3.4%) —
Recalled from consumers 021010 4 (3.4%) —
Reinforced checks ordered 002001 3 (2.6%) —
Re-dispatched 010001 2 (1.7%) —

Consumer recalls by year

YearRecallsShare of notifications
202000.0%
202126.9%
202213.7%
202300.0%
202415.6%
202500.0%

Rejections against import tonnes, by product

Border rejections over the last three years, measured against EU import tonnes of the same product from Uganda. 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
Sesame161,365 t3 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
Fruits and Vegetables border rejections →
Other vegetables, Peppers & chilies
42221585 65 (56.0%) —
Nuts, Nut Products and Seeds border rejections →
Groundnut / peanut, Sesame
3649510 37 (31.9%) —
Herbs and Spices 011251 10 (8.6%) —
Fish and Fish Products 301000 4 (3.4%) —

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
Pesticide residues 423217135 73 (62.9%) —
Pathogenic micro-organisms 344239 25 (21.6%) —
Mycotoxins 010010 2 (1.7%) —
Composition 001000 1 (0.9%) —
Environmental pollutants 000001 1 (0.9%) new
Heavy metals 001000 1 (0.9%) —
Non-pathogenic micro-organisms 000100 1 (0.9%) —
Organoleptic aspects 100000 1 (0.9%) —
Poor or insufficient controls 100000 1 (0.9%) —
No hazard recorded 110611 10 (8.6%) —

By risk level

Risk decision2020202120222023202420252020–2025Change
Serious 719177911 70 (60.3%) —
Potentially serious 001134 9 (7.8%) —
Potential risk 000020 2 (1.7%) —
Not serious 302541 15 (12.9%) —
No risk 001300 4 (3.4%) —
Undecided 0106000 16 (13.8%) —

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
lambda-cyhalothrin
Fruits and Vegetables
127260 18 —
cypermethrin
Fruits and Vegetables
363320 17 —
chlorpyrifos
Fruits and Vegetables
164011 13 —
omethoate
Fruits and Vegetables
035012 11 —
dimethoate
Fruits and Vegetables
034002 9 —
carbendazim
Fruits and Vegetables
013030 7 —
ethylene oxide
Fruits and Vegetables, Nuts, Nut Products and Seeds
051000 6 —
clothianidin
Fruits and Vegetables
101020 4 —
profenofos
Fruits and Vegetables
010110 3 —
thiophanate-methyl
Fruits and Vegetables
001010 2 —

Other hazards

Substance2020202120222023202420252020–2025Change
salmonella
Nuts, Nut Products and Seeds
344339 26 —
aflatoxins
Nuts, Nut Products and Seeds
010010 2 —
benzalkonium chloride (bac) 001000 1 —
histologic lesions due TO freezin 100000 1 —
lead 001000 1 —
lesioni DA congelamento 100000 1 —
mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (moah) 000001 1 new

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 July; Alerts peak in June; Information notifications peak in January.

By notification type

TypeJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecPeak
Border rejections13497117146351010July
Alerts101103001021June
Information notifications210100100110January

By hazard class

Hazard classJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecPeak
Pesticide residues13489731041383January
Pathogenic micro-organisms202046212132June
Mycotoxins000001100000June
Composition010000000000February
Environmental pollutants000000000010November

Notifying member states

Member state2020202120222023202420252020–2025Change
Belgium 4169112 33 —
Germany 247113 18 —
Netherlands 022246 16 —
France 150240 12 —
Greece 000622 10 —
Switzerland 004330 10 —
Sweden 003002 5 —
Finland 010030 4 —
Italy 300000 3 —
Denmark 001000 1 —

Current EU check frequencies

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

ProductHazardChecksAnnex
Peppers & ChiliesPesticide residues50%I
Prepared fruit and nutsSalmonella30%II
SesameSalmonella30%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 "Uganda food safety record, 2020–2025: EU RASFF", RASFF Trends, 2026-10-14, https://rasff.fruit-risk.com/reports/uganda.html.