47 notifications on food additives and flavourings from China since 1 January 2020. That is 2% of all EU notifications on products from China and 22% of all notifications on food additives and flavourings from any origin; China ranks 1 of 37 origins for this category. 14 in the 365 days to 8 November 2026, against 7 in the 365 days before, up 100%.
Most reported: chlorate (12), ethylene oxide (12) and missing or incorrect health certificates and documents (5). 40% were border rejections (14% for food additives and flavourings from all origins) and 21% had a serious risk decision. The products named most often were thickeners (27), food enzymes (5) and flavourings (1).
Counts start on 1 January 2020 and run to 8 November 2026, the day the list was last read. A notification that names two countries of origin counts for each. Findings come from our word list matched against the EU subject line, which is never shown; 96% of all notifications match it, the rest count as other finding. Each reference links to the official record on RASFF Window. How this works.
Latest notifications on food additives and flavourings from China
The newest 25 of 47, newest first, each built from fixed word lists. The reference opens the official record.
- Information for attention notified by Italy: benzene in a food additive or flavouring from China, risk decision potential risk, reference 2026.5869, validated 2 July 2026.
- Border rejection notified by Poland: missing or incorrect health certificates and documents for thickeners from China, risk decision not serious, reference 2026.5760, validated 30 June 2026.
- Information for follow up notified by Belgium: chlorate in thickeners from China, risk decision potential risk, reference 2026.4610, validated 26 May 2026.
- Border rejection notified by Italy: chlorate in thickeners from China, risk decision potential risk, reference 2026.3594, validated 24 April 2026.
- Border rejection notified by Italy: chlorate in thickeners from China, risk decision potential risk, reference 2026.3599, validated 24 April 2026.
- Border rejection notified by Italy: chlorate in thickeners from China, risk decision potential risk, reference 2026.3338, validated 20 April 2026.
- Border rejection notified by Italy: chlorate in thickeners from China, risk decision potential risk, reference 2026.3088, validated 10 April 2026.
- Border rejection notified by Slovenia: chlorate in thickeners from China, risk decision potential risk, reference 2026.2760, validated 31 March 2026.
- Border rejection notified by Italy: chlorate in thickeners from China, risk decision potential risk, reference 2026.2700, validated 30 March 2026.
- Border rejection notified by Italy: chlorate in thickeners from China, risk decision potential risk, reference 2026.1448, validated 20 February 2026.
- Information for follow up notified by Belgium: chlorate in thickeners from Belgium and China, risk decision potential risk, reference 2026.0361, validated 16 January 2026.
- Border rejection notified by Latvia: labelling faults for flavourings from China, risk decision not serious, reference 2026.0084, validated 7 January 2026.
- Information for follow up notified by Belgium: chlorate in thickeners from China, risk decision potential risk, reference 2025.10124, validated 17 December 2025.
- Information for follow up notified by Belgium: chlorate in thickeners from China, risk decision potential risk, reference 2025.10026, validated 15 December 2025.
- Border rejection notified by Latvia: unauthorised colours in food additives from China, risk decision potential risk, reference 2025.7842, validated 13 October 2025.
- Alert notified by Belgium: chlorate in thickeners from Belgium, China and Italy, risk decision potentially serious, reference 2025.6360, validated 20 August 2025.
- Alert notified by the Netherlands: mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOSH, MOAH) in a food additive or flavouring from China, risk decision serious, reference 2025.5775, validated 30 July 2025.
- Border rejection notified by Poland: ethylene oxide in thickeners from China, risk decision potentially serious, reference 2025.0296, validated 16 January 2025.
- Border rejection notified by Italy: ethylene oxide in thickeners from China, risk decision potentially serious, reference 2024.9139, validated 11 December 2024.
- Information for attention notified by Poland: ethylene oxide in a food additive or flavouring from China, risk decision serious, reference 2024.8766, validated 27 November 2024.
- Information for attention notified by France: unauthorised genetically modified material in food enzymes from China, risk decision potential risk, reference 2024.8517, validated 19 November 2024.
- Border rejection notified by Poland: ethylene oxide in thickeners from China, risk decision potentially serious, reference 2024.7025, validated 20 September 2024.
- Border rejection notified by Spain: missing or incorrect health certificates and documents for thickeners from China, risk decision no risk, reference 2024.5362, validated 12 July 2024.
- Border rejection notified by Latvia: a finding outside our word list in a food additive or flavouring from China, risk decision potential risk, reference 2023.8379, validated 6 December 2023.
- Border rejection notified by Italy: missing or incorrect health certificates and documents for thickeners from China, risk decision potential risk, reference 2023.4666, validated 11 July 2023.
More: all notifications on products from China and food additives and flavourings from every origin.
The numbers
| Year | Notifications |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 3 |
| 2021 | 12 |
| 2022 | 4 |
| 2023 | 5 |
| 2024 | 5 |
| 2025 | 6 |
| 2026 (to 8 Nov 2026) | 12 |
| Type | Notifications | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Border rejection | 19 | 40% |
| Alert | 13 | 28% |
| Information for follow up | 11 | 23% |
| Information for attention | 4 | 9% |
| Risk decision | Notifications | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Serious | 10 | 21% |
| Potentially serious | 5 | 11% |
| Potential risk | 16 | 34% |
| Not serious | 3 | 6% |
| Undecided | 10 | 21% |
| No risk | 3 | 6% |
| Finding | Notifications | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Chlorate | 12 | 26% |
| Ethylene oxide | 12 | 26% |
| Missing or incorrect health certificates and documents | 5 | 11% |
| Unauthorised genetically modified material | 5 | 11% |
| Arsenic | 2 | 4% |
| Fraud or adulteration | 2 | 4% |
| Phosphates | 2 | 4% |
| Vitamins, minerals or other nutrients above safe levels | 2 | 4% |
| Benzene | 1 | 2% |
| Foreign bodies | 1 | 2% |
| Product | Notifications |
|---|---|
| Thickeners | 27 |
| Food enzymes | 5 |
| Flavourings | 1 |
| Food additives | 1 |
| Notifying country | Notifications | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Italy | 11 | 23% |
| Belgium | 8 | 17% |
| Poland | 6 | 13% |
| France | 5 | 11% |
| Latvia | 4 | 9% |
| Germany | 3 | 6% |
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