Sudan is an African country with a significant production of sesame seeds.
Sesame is an oilseed plant grown in the arid climates of India, China, Sudan, Ethiopia, and so on.
Sesame has multiple uses in the food industry: oil industry, bakery, tahini, halva, etc.
Sudan is one of the world's largest exporters of sesame seeds (after India and China), in 2019 it exported 580,000 tons, in 2020 it was 670,000 tons and in 2021 it was 570,000 tons.
The European Commission has identified a health risk in Sudanese sesame seeds: the presence of Salmonella.
For this reason, this product was included in EU Regulation 2019/1793 on the temporary increase in border controls. Thus, in 2019, 99 RASFF notifications were made for the presence of salmonella in sesame from Sudan.
In 2020, there were 20 RASFF notifications for salmonella in Sudanese sesame. Given the number of non-compliances in June of that year, in addition to sampling and analytical control at the border, shipments were required to be accompanied by a health certificate issued by the Sudanese authorities. Each consignment was required to undergo microbiological control at origin, along with the analytical report confirming the shipment tested.This additional requirement caused seemingly insurmountable problems for the Sudanese sesame industry.
In 2021, there was only one rejection at the border due to the presence of salmonella in sesame seeds
In 2022, 24 rejections of Sudanese sesame seeds were made at EU borders: one due to the presence of salmonella and 23 due to the lack of required documentation (health certificate and analytical report).
In 2023, there were 45 rejections at the border, all due to the lack of documentation, and in 2024, another 43 rejections, 42 of them due to the lack of the required documentation.
A total of 110 RASFF notifications for Sudanese sesame seeds due to the lack of required documentation have been made since June 2020 under Regulation EU 2019/1793.
The lack of official health certification has become the primary problem for the importation of sesame seeds from Sudan into the EU. The lack of a certificate results in unfavorable documentary inspections, resulting in rejection without knowing whether the consignment contains salmonella or not.Fortunately for Sudan, the EU is a minority customer for its sesame seeds, as the majority are exported to other countries (China, Syria, Saudi Arabia).
However, the Sudanese Health Authority should review its export control procedure within the scope of EU Regulation 2019/1793/EU.
