Guatemala — Soft Drinks and Waters — Soft-Drinks
Guatemala received 34 FDA import refusals in Soft-Drinks, part of Soft Drinks and Waters between 2023-Q4 and 2026-Q3. Volume peaked at 6 in 2024-Q1, with the trend falling year-on-year. The most-cited issues are unsafe color additive, not in English, and color not declared. Measured against US import value, that runs at 158.6 refusals per $1 billion of imports of this commodity from Guatemala over the last 3 years.
Key figures
If you import soft-drinks from Guatemala
Higher risk. Guatemala ranks 3rd of 11 origins shipping soft-drinks to the US on refusals per $1 billion of US imports, at 158.6 — above 80% of them.
least riskmost risk
- Hazard or paperwork
- Of 34 refusals in the last 3 years, 19 were hazard findings and 15 paperwork alone.
- Refusals against import volume
- On average, 1 refusal per 4,023 tonnes imported into the US over the last 3 years; the 2nd highest refusal rate of 6 origins with enough import volume on record to rate (US import quantities 2022–2024, FAOSTAT).
- Where refusals happen
- DSEI — Southeast (30); DSWI — Southwest, the Mexican land border (3); DWCI — West Coast (1).
- Riskiest months
- November, March, April, by refusals since 2020.
- Test for before shipping
- unsafe color additive (13), unsafe food additive (6), undeclared allergen (2), FD&C Yellow No. 5 undeclared (2).
- Paperwork to get right
- not in English (15), nutrition labeling (15), color not declared (9).
FDA does not publish how many entries it examines, so no page can state a true probability of refusal; these are the figures that are published.
Exporting from Guatemala? Get an email when shipments from Guatemala are refused at the US border — before your buyers ask.
One email a week, and only when something matches. We'll send a confirmation link first; unsubscribe any time from the footer of any email.
Quarterly refusals, last 12 quarters
Show the numbers
| Quarter | Refusals | Hazard | Paperwork |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-Q4 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2024-Q1 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| 2024-Q2 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| 2024-Q3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024-Q4 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| 2025-Q1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2025-Q2 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025-Q3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2025-Q4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2026-Q1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2026-Q2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2026-Q3 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Recent refusals
- 826-0254355-3 SOFT DRINK, SUBTROPICAL OR TROPICAL FRUIT FLAVORED, CARBONATED Import division DSEI. color not declaredingredients not listedfalse or misleading labelnot in English+3 more
- 826-0255089-7 SOFT DRINK, CITRUS FRUIT FLAVORED, NONCARBONATED Import division DSEI. unsafe color additiveingredients not listednot to standard of identitynot in English+3 more
- 595-6336735-4 SOFT DRINK, OTHER FRUIT FLAVORED, NONCARBONATED Import division DSEI. unsafe color additive
- 826-0251185-7 SOFT DRINK, OTHER FRUIT FLAVORED, CARBONATED Import division DSEI. not in Englishlabelingnutrition labeling
- E84-0118650-5 SOFT DRINK, CITRUS FRUIT FLAVORED, NONCARBONATED Import division DSEI. unsafe color additivenot to standard of identitynot in Englishjuice percentage not declared+1 more
- 826-0250252-6 SOFT DRINK, OTHER FRUIT FLAVORED, CARBONATED Import division DSEI. unsafe color additivecolor not declaredno net quantitylabeling+1 more
- 826-0247986-5 CARBONATED SOFT DRINK, N.E.C. Import division DSEI. not in Englishlabeling
- HG8-1601611-4 SOFT DRINK, CITRUS FRUIT FLAVORED, CARBONATED Import division DSWI. ingredients not listedno net quantitynot in Englishnutrition labeling
- U10-1250794-7 SOFT DRINK, OTHER FRUIT FLAVORED, NONCARBONATED Import division DSEI. unsafe color additive
- 826-0247805-7 CARBONATED SOFT DRINK, N.E.C. Import division DSEI. unsafe color additive
- U10-1250373-0 SOFT DRINK, OTHER FRUIT FLAVORED, NONCARBONATED Import division DSEI. unsafe color additivenot to standard of identitynot in Englishjuice percentage not declared+1 more
- U10-1250707-9 SOFT DRINK, OTHER FRUIT FLAVORED, NONCARBONATED Import division DSEI. false or misleading label
- U10-1250633-7 SOFT DRINK, OTHER FRUIT FLAVORED, NONCARBONATED Import division DSWI. unsafe color additivecolor not declarednot in Englishjuice percentage not declared+1 more
- DM4-0812606-6 SOFT DRINK, CITRUS FRUIT FLAVORED, NONCARBONATED Import division DSEI. color not declaredno manufacturer name
- 224-1210324-8 SOFT DRINK, OTHER FRUIT FLAVORED, NONCARBONATED Import division DSWI. ingredients not listed
- DM4-0811973-1 SOFT DRINK, CITRUS FRUIT FLAVORED, NONCARBONATED Import division DSEI. unsafe color additivecolor not declarednot in EnglishFD&C Yellow No. 5 undeclared
- DM4-0811313-0 SOFT DRINK, CITRUS FRUIT FLAVORED, NONCARBONATED Import division DSEI. unsafe color additivecolor not declarednot in English
- DM4-0807030-6 SOFT DRINK, CITRUS FRUIT FLAVORED, NONCARBONATED Import division DSEI. labeling
- DM4-0808195-6 SOFT DRINK, CITRUS FRUIT FLAVORED, NONCARBONATED Import division DSEI. labeling
- DM4-0805546-3 SOFT DRINK, CITRUS FRUIT FLAVORED, NONCARBONATED Import division DSEI. nutrition labeling
Data and downloads
Download all 42 entries (CSV) — every refusal behind this page, with its import division, FDA product code, charges and whether it was a hazard finding or paperwork.
The file holds entries up to 2026-09-23. To get new ones for Guatemala by email, watch Guatemala.
Guatemala country report since 2020 — every refusal by year, charge and import division →