Import notifications by causes (2021)
In 2021, the European Union recorded a total of 221 import notifications through the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF). The causes were organized into six risk categories, including: chemical, microbiological, histamine, toxins, parasites, and a broad category called “other causes”. As summarized in the table below, most notifications were due to the category “other causes” (92 cases), followed by chemical causes (58 cases), microbiological causes (37 cases) and the presence of parasites (20 causes). The fifth-largest cause of import notifications was due to the presence of toxins (eight cases) and the presence of histamine above the maximum levels, with six cases recorded. There was a decrease in notifications from 227 in 2020 to 221 in 2021. In comparison with 2020, the “other causes” category increased from 77 cases recorded to 92 cases in 2021. The same trend occurred for parasitic causes, with 14 cases recorded in 2020 and 20 in 2021; while chemical causes decreased from 62 cases to 58 in the same period. Similarly, cases due to microbiological issues decreased from 57 in 2020 to 37 in 2021. Cases due to toxins and the presence of histamine above the maximum levels decreased.
Import notifications by category (Number cases – 2021)
| Month | Others | Chemical | Microbiological | Parasites | Toxins | Histamine | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 92 | 58 | 37 | 20 | 8 | 6 | 221 |
| January | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| February | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| March | 8 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 21 |
| April | 13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 |
| May | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| June | 8 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 20 |
| July | 4 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 22 |
| August | 7 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| September | 11 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| October | 14 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| November | 13 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| December | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
Source: RASFF Portal
Percentage of the causes
As shown in the figure, the “other causes” category was the main one in terms of number of notifications, accounting for 42 percent of the total. Chemical causes accounted for 26 percent, followed by microbiological causes (17 percent) parasites (9 percent), toxins (3 percent), and histamine (3 percent).