Australia: FDA food import refusals, 2020–2025
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Australia was the origin of 291 of 22,156 US food import refusals in 2020–2025 (1.3%), ranking 16th of 146 origins. 78% were hazard findings and 22% paperwork alone. 71% concerned color additives for foods, drugs, and cosmetics; the most-cited safety charge was unsafe color additive, and the most-cited paperwork charge nutrition labeling.
Every US food import refusal naming Australia as origin, 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2025. A refusal is one import entry, however many product lines it carried. Download every table (CSV).
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By year
| Year | Refusals | Share of US total | Rank among origins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 26 | 1.0% | 20 |
| 2021 | 8 | 0.3% | 48 |
| 2022 | 194 | 5.7% | 4 |
| 2023 | 53 | 1.5% | 13 |
| 2024 | 3 | 0.1% | 70 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0.1% | 68 |
| 2020–2025 | 291 | 1.3% | 16 |
Year links open that year's refusals, entry by entry.
Tables below show each year 2020–2025; cells are shaded against their row's own peak. Change compares 2025 with 2020 and is shown only where 2020 had at least 10 refusals ("new" where it had none).
Hazard or paperwork
A refusal is a hazard finding when any of its charges is a safety one — filth, pathogens, residues, contaminants, unsafe additives — and paperwork when every charge is labelling, registration or a missing filing. One citing only charge codes FDA has not published is unclassified.
| Year | Hazard findings | Paperwork only | Unclassified | Hazard share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 17 | 9 | 0 | 65.4% |
| 2021 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 37.5% |
| 2022 | 182 | 12 | 0 | 93.8% |
| 2023 | 19 | 34 | 0 | 35.8% |
| 2024 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 85.7% |
| 2020–2025 | 227 | 64 | 0 | 78.0% |
By industry
| FDA industry | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Color Additives for Foods, Drugs, and Cosmetics | 0 | 0 | 185 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 207 (71.1%) | — |
| Baby (Infant and Junior) Food Products | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 23 (7.9%) | — |
| Vitamins, Minerals, Proteins, and Unconventional Dietary Specialties for Humans rates → Herbals-botanicals · Supplements |
6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 21 (7.2%) | — |
| Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 19 (6.5%) | −71% |
| Soft Drinks and Waters | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 (2.4%) | — |
| Bakery Products, Doughs, Bakery Mixes, and Icings | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 (1.0%) | — |
| Dietary Conventional Foods and Meal Replacements rates → | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 (1.0%) | — |
| Snack Food Items (Flour, Meal, or Vegetable Base) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (0.7%) | — |
| Coffee and Tea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.3%) | — |
| Food Sweeteners (Nutritive) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.3%) | — |
| Milk, Butter, and Dried Milk Products | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 (0.3%) | new |
| Spices, Flavors, and Salts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 (0.3%) | new |
| Vegetable Oils (Includes Olive Oil) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.3%) | — |
| Whole Grains, Milled Grain Products, and Starch | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.3%) | — |
By charge group
A refusal citing charges in two groups counts once in each, so rows can add up to more than the total.
| Charge group | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe additives (hazard) | 3 | 3 | 181 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 205 (70.4%) | — |
| Labelling (paperwork) | 5 | 3 | 5 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 40 (13.7%) | — |
| Process and registration (paperwork) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 25 (8.6%) | — |
| Pesticide residues (hazard) | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 19 (6.5%) | −71% |
| Filth and insanitary conditions (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 (0.7%) | new |
| Contaminants (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.3%) | — |
| Other charges (no group) | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 11 (3.8%) | — |
Most-cited charges
FDA's own charge codes, with a plain-English label. Each is counted once per refusal.
Safety charges
| Charge | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
unsafe color additive UNSAFE COL |
3 | 3 | 150 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 173 | — |
unsafe cosmetic color COSM COLOR |
0 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | — |
pesticide residue PESTICIDE |
14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 19 | −71% |
filth FILTHY |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | new |
insanitary handling MFR INJ |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | new |
poisonous or deleterious substance POISONOUS |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — |
unsafe food additive UNSAFE ADD |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — |
Paperwork charges
| Charge | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
nutrition labeling NUTRIT LBL |
2 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 19 | — |
no net quantity LACKS N/C |
0 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 17 | — |
false or misleading label FALSE |
3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 12 | — |
labeling LABELING |
0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 10 | — |
no premarket notification LACK NOTIF |
0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | — |
unapproved new drug UNAPPROVED |
5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | — |
supplement labeling DIETARYLBL |
2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | — |
ingredients not listed LIST INGRE |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | — |
no contact information NCONTACT |
1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | — |
dietary supplement violation DIETARY |
0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | — |
By month
Pooled across 2020–2025. Each row is shaded against its own peak, so its season shows whatever its size. Hazard findings peak in September; Paperwork only peak in July.
Hazard or paperwork
| Kind | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazard findings | 17 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 57 | 86 | 29 | 13 | 3 | September |
| Paperwork only | 6 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 10 | July |
By charge group
| Charge group | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe additives | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 54 | 85 | 27 | 12 | 2 | September |
| Labelling | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | July |
| Process and registration | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | July |
| Pesticide residues | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | January |
| Filth and insanitary conditions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | May |
Import divisions
The FDA division that handled the entry. DSWI and DNBI are the Mexican and Canadian land borders, so this says as much about the route as about the product.
| Division | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DSEI — Southeast | 5 | 4 | 190 | 45 | 1 | 0 | 245 | — |
| DNBI — North Border, the Canadian land border | 11 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 21 | −55% |
| DWCI — West Coast | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 15 | — |
| DNEI — Northeast | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | — |
| DSWI — Southwest, the Mexican land border | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | — |
Method
- Source: FDA Import Refusal Report (U.S. Food and Drug Administration); every food import refusal dated 2020–2025.
- Counts are import entries, not product lines. A refusal naming several origins counts once for each, so origin shares can add up to more than 100%.
- Charge groups are this site's grouping of FDA's charge codes; a code belongs to the first group that claims it, the same rule as the hazard pages.
- A charge is what FDA cited to refuse the entry, often on appearance or documents rather than a laboratory result. Counts depend on how often each product is examined, so they are not a rate of unsafe food.
- Licence: CC-BY-4.0. Cite as "Australia: FDA food import refusals, 2020–2025", fruit-risk.com, 2026-09-20, https://fdair.fruit-risk.com/reports/australia.html.
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