Food from Mercosur countries under IJHARS control: 2,066 consignments checked at the border and 13 rejected — including coffee with mouldy beans and elevated moisture; on the domestic market 8 of 70 lots, also protein content not matching the label
On 3 November 2026 Poland’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development published the results of checks on food from Mercosur countries since 1 May 2026, when the EU–Mercosur trade agreement started to apply: by 15 October the Agricultural and Food Quality Inspection (IJHARS) had checked 2,066 consignments at the border — about 5 % of all consignments from third countries — and rejected 13 (about 0.6 %). The irregularities mainly concerned labelling and the results of laboratory tests and sensory evaluation; on the domestic market 8 of 70 lots (about 11.4 %) were found non-compliant.
- The EU trade agreement with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia has applied since 1 May 2026. IJHARS border checks cover agri-food products on the list of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (regulation of 18 January 2013 on the list of products imported from abroad and their minimum quantities subject to commercial quality control) as well as fresh fruit and vegetables and bananas covered by EU marketing standards (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2429); where there is reasonable suspicion, the inspection may also check products not on the list.
- IJHARS checks commercial quality: organoleptic, physico-chemical and microbiological characteristics related to production technology, size or weight, as well as presentation and labelling. It does not check sanitary, veterinary or phytosanitary requirements — that is the task of other inspections carrying out border controls.
- From 1 May to 15 October 2026 IJHARS checked 39,761 consignments of food from third countries at the border, including 2,066 from Mercosur countries: 1,564 from Argentina (among others peanuts, frozen marine fish and fish fillets, maize grain, wine, black tea, multifloral nectar honey, dried beans), 470 from Brazil (peanuts, coffee and coffee extract), 21 from Paraguay (wine, rice) and 11 from Uruguay (rice).
- 13 consignments were rejected — mainly coffee, wine, popcorn maize and concentrated fruit juices; 12 decisions prohibited placing on the market and one ordered treatment so that the product meets the commercial quality requirements. Besides labelling errors (list of ingredients, nutrition declaration, nominal quantity, alcohol content, allergens), the reasons were laboratory test and sensory evaluation results: coffee not meeting its specification (broken beans, beans damaged by pests or affected by mould, presence of pests and organic contaminants), elevated moisture and abnormal taste and smell. A consignment rejected at the border may not be placed on the market in Poland or anywhere in the EU.
- On the domestic market IJHARS checked 70 lots of Mercosur products at 46 businesses that had arrived through the free movement of goods within the EU — among others fresh fruit and vegetables, beef and poultry, peanuts, chia seeds, green and roasted coffee, black tea, unrefined cane sugar and wines. Irregularities in 8 lots from Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay (among others chia seeds, limes and mangoes, rib-eye steak, cut blanched beef tripe, coffee beans) included Poland given as the country of origin instead of Brazil, missing quality class for fruit and vegetables and a discrepancy between the declared protein content and the content determined in the laboratory.
- Since 3 September 2026 the EU has banned imports from Brazil of, among others, honey, casings, eggs and egg products, poultry meat and beef and their products, horsemeat and aquaculture products — according to Poland’s Chief Veterinary Inspectorate because of non-compliance with EU requirements on the use of antimicrobial medicinal products in animals.