FDA import refusal charge codes

Every refusal names one or more FDA charge codes, short labels such as FILTHY or NO PROCESS for the legal reason the entry was refused. Each code below has its own page with FDA's charge language, how often it is cited, and the origins and products it is cited against. Codes cited fewer than 30 times since 2020 have no page.

Safety charges

A refusal citing any of these counts as a hazard finding.

Code	What it means	Refusals	Group
`FILTHY`	filth	4,966	Filth and insanitary conditions
`PESTICIDE`	pesticide residue	3,895	Pesticide residues
`UNSAFE COL`	unsafe color additive	3,181	Unsafe additives
`SALMONELLA`	Salmonella	2,387	Salmonella
`POISONOUS`	poisonous or deleterious substance	935	Contaminants
`UNSAFE ADD`	unsafe food additive	841	Unsafe additives
`MFR INSAN`	insanitary plant	831	Filth and insanitary conditions
`MFR INJ`	insanitary handling	732	Filth and insanitary conditions
`MELAMINE`	melamine	611	Contaminants
`ALLERGEN`	undeclared allergen	508	Undeclared allergens
`LISTERIA`	Listeria monocytogenes	475	Listeria monocytogenes
`VETDRUGRES`	veterinary drug residue	363	Veterinary drug residues
`UNSFDIETSP`	unsafe dietary ingredient	356	Unsafe additives
`INSANITARY`	insanitary conditions	311	Filth and insanitary conditions
`UNFIT4FOOD`	unfit for food	284	Filth and insanitary conditions
`POISONORD`	poisonous substance	267	Contaminants
`NITROFURAN`	nitrofuran	165	Veterinary drug residues
`HISTAMINE`	histamine	150	Histamine
`YELLOW #5`	FD&C Yellow No. 5 undeclared	143	Unsafe additives
`PB-FOOD`	lead	122	Contaminants
`FOREIGN OB`	foreign object	57	Filth and insanitary conditions
`REFUSE EI`	refused establishment inspection	55	Filth and insanitary conditions
`ADDED BULK`	bulking agent added	51	Contaminants
`AFLATOXIN`	aflatoxin	45	Mycotoxins
`MYCOTOXIN`	mycotoxin	43	Mycotoxins
`RADIONUC`	radionuclide	41	Contaminants
`COSM COLOR`	unsafe cosmetic color	39	Unsafe additives
`CYCLAMATE`	cyclamate	37	Unsafe additives

Paperwork charges

Counted as paperwork on this site: the charge is about the label, a filing, a registration, an approval or process controls, not a contaminant or pathogen found in the product.

Code	What it means	Refusals	Group
`NUTRIT LBL`	nutrition labeling	3,026	Labelling
`UNAPPROVED`	unapproved new drug	2,406	Process and registration
`COLOR LBLG`	color not declared	2,139	Labelling
`NO ENGLISH`	not in English	2,089	Labelling
`LIST INGRE`	ingredients not listed	1,613	Labelling
`LACKS N/C`	no net quantity	1,433	Labelling
`FALSE`	false or misleading label	948	Labelling
`NO PROCESS`	no process filing	934	Process and registration
`LACKS FIRM`	no manufacturer name	914	Labelling
`LABELING`	labeling	746	Labelling
`INCONSPICU`	label not conspicuous	670	Labelling
`USUAL NAME`	no common name	668	Labelling
`NEEDS FCE`	no food-canning registration	505	Process and registration
`FSVP VIO`	FSVP violation	415	Process and registration
`DIETARYLBL`	supplement labeling	351	Labelling
`NCONTACT`	no contact information	286	Labelling
`NOT LISTED`	establishment not listed	204	Process and registration
`HEALTH C`	unauthorized health claim	188	Labelling
`SUPPL GMP`	supplement GMP failure	165	Process and registration
`FRNMFGREG`	foreign plant not registered	135	Process and registration
`STD IDENT`	not to standard of identity	131	Labelling
`INADPRCCTL`	inadequate process control	130	Process and registration
`MFRHACCP`	HACCP failure	108	Process and registration
`SULFITELBL`	sulfites not declared	107	Labelling
`COLORLABEL`	color additive labeling	103	Labelling
`JUICE %`	juice percentage not declared	100	Labelling
`DIRSEXMPT`	no adequate directions	88	Labelling
`DIETARYING`	dietary ingredient labeling	78	Labelling
`807REFUSAL`	listing refusal	68	Process and registration
`PRESRV LBL`	preservative not declared	60	Labelling
`FLAVR LBLG`	flavor not declared	54	Labelling
`STD NAME`	no standard name	54	Labelling
`LACK NOTIF`	no premarket notification	51	Process and registration
`NEEDS ACID`	no acidified-food filing	49	Process and registration
`PLANT PART`	plant part not declared	43	Labelling

Other charges

In none of this site's charge groups. A refusal citing one of these and no safety charge is counted with paperwork.

Code	What it means	Refusals	Group
`SUBSTITUTE`	substitution	41	—