Analysis of notifications on China food safety by EU rapid alert system for Food and Feed (RASFF) in 2021

Abstract

ObjectiveThis paper analyzes the key concerns of the European union （EU） in the field of food and summarizes the problems of food quality and safety in China and the measures to be taken based on the EU Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed （RASFF） notifications to the public on food safety in China from 2019 to 2021.MethodsSummarizing the situation of the EU RASFF notification to China in 2019—2021， Classification statistical analysis was carried out from five analysis dimensions， including notification type， notification country， product type， hazard type， notification type and hazard type correlation analysis.ResultsIn 2021， the EU RASFF notified 158 cases of food to China， accounting for 50.16% of notifications to China. The three types of products notified accounted for a higher percentage： fruits and vegetables （29 cases）， fish and its products （16 cases）， herbs and spices （16 cases）. Four types of hazards， such as pesticide residues， food additives and flavorings， industrial pollutants， and mycotoxins， accounted for a relatively high proportion. The problem of ethylene oxide exceeding the standard exists in some food categories in China， but China’s relevant studies on the exposure of ethylene oxide and 2-chloroethanol in food were less， and the national standards for detection methods and limits in food had not yet been established. Among the border rejection types of notification， pesticide residues （20 cases）， mycotoxins （5 cases）， pathogenic microorganisms （4 cases） and other hazard factors accounted for a relatively high percentage.ConclusionThis paper summarizes the EU RASFF notification of China’s food safety situation exported to Europe， in order to reduce the occurrence of similar situations， and provide reference for China’s market supervision departments and export food enterprises.

Keywords

• european union
• food safety
• rapid alert system for food and feed
• export