Guides · Coffee, tea & spices

Exporting packaged coffee, tea and spices to Poland

Roasters, instant-coffee plants, tea packers and spice processors selling packaged products.

Updated 28 Oct 2026 · 2 min read · Free

In short

From 30 December 2026 coffee (including roasted coffee) falls under the EU Deforestation Regulation: the first EU importer files a due-diligence statement with the geolocation of the farms. Instant coffee (HS 2101) was not in the original product list, but the list is being reviewed; tea and spices are not covered.
Spices and herbs cause many EU alerts: aflatoxins and ochratoxin A, pesticide residues, ethylene oxide, Salmonella and banned dyes.
Some spices from some countries are on the EU list of foods with more frequent border checks.
Coffee, tea, herbs and spices are exempt from the nutrition table, but not from the rest of the Polish label.

Coffee and the EU Deforestation Regulation

From 30 December 2026 (30 June 2027 for micro and small companies) coffee may be placed on the EU market only if it was grown on land not deforested after 31 December 2020 and produced legally. The company that first places it on the EU market, usually the Polish or other EU importer, files a due-diligence statement in the EU information system. In practice your buyer will ask you for the geolocation of every farm or plot the beans came from. Start collecting it from your bean suppliers now. Cocoa and chocolate and palm oil are covered in the same way.

Spices and herbs: what the EU tests

Aflatoxins and ochratoxin A in chilli, paprika, nutmeg, pepper, ginger and turmeric: they come from slow drying and humid storage.
Pesticide residues, including pesticides not approved in the EU.
Ethylene oxide, used in some countries to sterilise spices, is banned in EU food.
Salmonella in pepper, sesame and herbs.
Banned dyes (Sudan dyes) and adulteration, for example in chilli and turmeric.
Plant toxins in herbal teas: limits for pyrrolizidine and tropane alkaloids apply.

Check your product and country in the current list of foods with more frequent border checks (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1793): listed products enter through designated border posts and some need an official certificate and lab results from your country for every consignment.

Coffee and tea quality limits

Roasted and instant coffee have EU limits for ochratoxin A and benchmark levels for acrylamide. Tea is tested mostly for pesticide residues and anthraquinone. Keep test reports for each lot; Polish buyers increasingly ask for them before listing.

Label

The Polish label needs the name (for example „Kawa rozpuszczalna”), ingredients for blends, allergens (celery and mustard are common in spice blends), net weight, best before, lot and the importer's details. Single spices, herbs, tea and coffee do not need a nutrition table; flavoured instant coffee mixes with sugar and creamer do.

What Poland imports: latest figures

Imports into Poland, € (Eurostat Comext), latest month Aug 2026. Change: vs the same months a year earlier.

Official sources

This guide is a plain-language overview, not legal, tax or customs advice. Rules change: check the official text and your product code before you ship.

Guides · Coffee, tea & spices

Exporting packaged coffee, tea and spices to Poland

Roasters, instant-coffee plants, tea packers and spice processors selling packaged products.

Updated 28 Oct 2026 · 2 min read · Free

In short

From 30 December 2026 coffee (including roasted coffee) falls under the EU Deforestation Regulation: the first EU importer files a due-diligence statement with the geolocation of the farms. Instant coffee (HS 2101) was not in the original product list, but the list is being reviewed; tea and spices are not covered.
Spices and herbs cause many EU alerts: aflatoxins and ochratoxin A, pesticide residues, ethylene oxide, Salmonella and banned dyes.
Some spices from some countries are on the EU list of foods with more frequent border checks.
Coffee, tea, herbs and spices are exempt from the nutrition table, but not from the rest of the Polish label.

Coffee and the EU Deforestation Regulation

Spices and herbs: what the EU tests

Aflatoxins and ochratoxin A in chilli, paprika, nutmeg, pepper, ginger and turmeric: they come from slow drying and humid storage.
Pesticide residues, including pesticides not approved in the EU.
Ethylene oxide, used in some countries to sterilise spices, is banned in EU food.
Salmonella in pepper, sesame and herbs.
Banned dyes (Sudan dyes) and adulteration, for example in chilli and turmeric.
Plant toxins in herbal teas: limits for pyrrolizidine and tropane alkaloids apply.

Coffee and tea quality limits

Label

What Poland imports: latest figures

Imports into Poland, € (Eurostat Comext), latest month Aug 2026. Change: vs the same months a year earlier.

Official sources

This guide is a plain-language overview, not legal, tax or customs advice. Rules change: check the official text and your product code before you ship.