RASFF is the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed, run by the European Commission. It lets EU food authorities share information quickly when they find a food or feed risk, including products rejected at the EU border.
A public portal, RASFF Window, lets anyone search notifications. You can filter by origin country, product category, hazard and date, so you can see which problems are being found in Indian products like yours.
Types of notification
- Alert: a serious risk where the product is already on the market and quick action is needed.
- Information: a risk that needs follow-up or attention, but not immediate action in other countries.
- Border rejection: a consignment refused entry at the EU border after checks.
- News: information that may be useful to food control authorities.
How to search for Indian products
Product names in notifications vary. Search a few spellings and forms, such as cumin seeds and ground cumin, or chilli, chili and chilli powder. Note the results in a simple table with date, product, hazard and level, so you can compare years. Repeat the search before each season's contract.
- Open RASFF Window on the European Commission website.
- Filter by origin country: India.
- Filter by product category, for example herbs and spices, nuts and seeds, or fruit and vegetables.
- Filter by hazard category if you want only pesticides, mycotoxins or pathogens.
- Set a date range, for example the last two or three years.
- Open each notification to see the product, hazard, level found and action taken.
What to look for
Look for patterns, not single cases. Is one hazard repeated for your product, such as a certain pesticide on cumin, aflatoxin on chilli, or Salmonella on sesame? Are findings rising or falling? A repeated pattern is a good sign the EU may increase border checks, and it tells you what to test for.
Notifications do not usually name the exporter, so RASFF is a guide to product risk rather than a check on one supplier. Ask your supplier directly about any past notifications on its own goods, and ask to see the corrective action.
How RASFF links to border checks
Frequent notifications for a product from one country can lead to it being added to Regulation (EU) 2019/1793, which sets increased official checks for listed products and origins. Indian sesame faced stricter EU checks after the ethylene oxide findings from 2020. Check the current annexes before booking. For seed spice patterns, see the most common rejection reasons for Indian seed spices in the EU.
How we help
We review recent RASFF notifications for your product before we build the test plan, and test the packed lot for the hazards that keep appearing. Start with a free sourcing review.