RASFF 2025: more than 5,300 original notifications across the system, over 700 of them from Germany — with cereulide in infant formula among the most important events
On 17 September 2026 Germany’s Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) presented the 2025 figures of the EU Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF): more than 5,300 original notifications and around 18,000 follow-ups were transmitted across the system. BVL regards the contamination of infant formula with cereulide as one of the most important events of recent years.
- Cereulide is an exceptionally heat-stable toxin produced by certain strains of the bacterium Bacillus cereus; within a few hours of ingestion it can cause nausea and vomiting. According to the ACN annual report, trace levels were detected in late November 2025 during routine quality checks at a facility in the Netherlands, and on 10 December the manufacturer notified the authorities and the Commission — the first entry into RASFF.
- In January 2026 arachidonic acid oil added to infant formula was identified as the source; information shared in RASFF made it possible to identify a common supplier in China and to see that products of other manufacturers were also affected. By May 2026 more than 20 original notifications and around 600 follow-ups had been shared, 13 of them involving Germany. According to the ACN report, over 60 countries were affected; in February 2026 EFSA set an acute reference dose for cereulide in infants, and on 24 February the Commission adopted Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/459 with emergency measures for imports of this oil from China.
- Germany transmitted more than 700 original notifications in 2025, about 13% of the total; only the Netherlands had more (817). Germany was listed as a recipient of potentially hazardous products in 1,145 notifications. Across the system, most notifications were based on official market controls (1,768; 33%), border controls (1,650; 31%) and companies’ own checks (1,446; 27%), fewer on reports from consumers or other informants (341), media monitoring (87) and food-borne outbreaks (36).
- According to the ACN annual report, the total number of notifications in the Alert and Cooperation Network (RASFF together with the administrative assistance and cooperation networks, AAC) exceeded 10,000 in 2025 — 10,490, 11% more than in 2024; the top notifying countries were Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. Alert notifications rose by 14%, while fraud notifications fell by almost half (46%).
Source: BVL — Cereulid in Säuglingsnahrung zeigt Bedeutung des Schnellwarnsystems (17.09.2026)