El Salvador — All Categories

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El Salvador received 110 FDA import refusals across all food categories between 2024-Q1 and 2026-Q4. Volume peaked at 18 in 2026-Q3, with the trend roughly flat year-on-year. The most-cited issues are unsafe color additive, color not declared, and unapproved new drug. No trade baseline is published for some of El Salvador's categories, so no per-$1B rate is shown for the origin total.

Exporting from El Salvador? Get an email when shipments from El Salvador are refused at the US border — before your buyers ask.

Key figures

Hazard or paperwork
Of these, 81 were hazard refusals and 29 were paperwork refusals.

Quarterly refusals, last 12 quarters

2024-Q1: 2 paperwork 2024-Q1: 3 hazard 5 2024-Q1 2024-Q1: 5 — 3 hazard, 2 paperwork 2024-Q2: 2 paperwork 2024-Q2: 2 hazard 4 2024-Q2 2024-Q2: 4 — 2 hazard, 2 paperwork 2024-Q3: 1 paperwork 2024-Q3: 9 hazard 10 2024-Q3 2024-Q3: 10 — 9 hazard, 1 paperwork 2024-Q4: 3 paperwork 2024-Q4: 8 hazard 11 2024-Q4 2024-Q4: 11 — 8 hazard, 3 paperwork 2025-Q1: 2 paperwork 2025-Q1: 7 hazard 9 2025-Q1 2025-Q1: 9 — 7 hazard, 2 paperwork 2025-Q2: 4 paperwork 2025-Q2: 13 hazard 17 2025-Q2 2025-Q2: 17 — 13 hazard, 4 paperwork 2025-Q3: 2 paperwork 2025-Q3: 3 hazard 5 2025-Q3 2025-Q3: 5 — 3 hazard, 2 paperwork 2025-Q4: 5 paperwork 2025-Q4: 2 hazard 7 2025-Q4 2025-Q4: 7 — 2 hazard, 5 paperwork 2026-Q1: 4 paperwork 2026-Q1: 7 hazard 11 2026-Q1 2026-Q1: 11 — 7 hazard, 4 paperwork 2026-Q2: 11 hazard 11 2026-Q2 2026-Q2: 11 — 11 hazard, 0 paperwork 2026-Q3: 4 paperwork 2026-Q3: 14 hazard 18 2026-Q3 2026-Q3: 18 — 14 hazard, 4 paperwork 2026-Q4: 2 hazard 2 2026-Q4 2026-Q4: 2 — 2 hazard, 0 paperwork

hazard findings labelling & registration

Show the numbers
QuarterRefusalsHazardPaperwork
2024-Q1532
2024-Q2422
2024-Q31091
2024-Q41183
2025-Q1972
2025-Q217134
2025-Q3532
2025-Q4725
2026-Q11174
2026-Q211110
2026-Q318144
2026-Q4220

By year

YearRefusals
2026 42
2025 38
2024 30
2023 22
2022 19
2021 19
2020 17

By category, last 156 weeks

Category Refusals Per $1B US imports Most-cited hazard
Candy Without Chocolate, Candy Specialties, and Chewing Gum 26 — unsafe color additive
Vegetables and Vegetable Products 19 — pesticide residue
Whole Grains, Milled Grain Products, and Starch 18 — mycotoxin
Vitamins, Minerals, Proteins, and Unconventional Dietary Specialties for Humans 15 — unapproved new drug
Fruit and Fruit Products 6 — unsafe color additive
Beverage Bases 5 — FSVP violation
Soft Drinks and Waters 5 — unsafe color additive
Soups 3 — FSVP violation
Cheese and Cheese Products 3 — insanitary conditions
Bakery Products, Doughs, Bakery Mixes, and Icings 2 — unsafe color additive
Multiple Food Dinners, Gravies, Sauces, and Specialties (Total Diet) 2 — no process filing
Food Sweeteners (Nutritive) 2 — unsafe color additive
Snack Food Items (Flour, Meal, or Vegetable Base) 2 — not in English
Spices, Flavors, and Salts 1 — pesticide residue
Chocolate and Cocoa Products 1 — FSVP violation
Milk, Butter, and Dried Milk Products 1 — no process filing

Recent refusals

Recent weeks

WeekRefusals
2026-W440
2026-W431
2026-W420
2026-W410
2026-W401
2026-W392
2026-W381
2026-W373

→ See all FDA import refusals for 2026-W44

Data and downloads

Download all 187 entries (CSV) — every refusal behind this page, with its import division, FDA product code, charges and whether it was a hazard finding or paperwork. Every entry is also listed by year above.

The file holds entries up to 2026-10-21. To get new ones for El Salvador by email, watch El Salvador.