Canada: FDA food import refusals, 2020–2025
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Canada was the origin of 780 of 22,156 US food import refusals in 2020–2025 (3.5%), ranking 6th of 146 origins. 64% were hazard findings and 36% paperwork alone. 37% concerned vitamins, minerals, proteins, and unconventional dietary specialties for humans; the most-cited safety charge was filth, and the most-cited paperwork charge nutrition labeling.
Every US food import refusal naming Canada 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 | 49 | 1.8% | 11 |
| 2021 | 97 | 3.4% | 8 |
| 2022 | 98 | 2.9% | 6 |
| 2023 | 175 | 5.0% | 4 |
| 2024 | 182 | 4.6% | 4 |
| 2025 | 179 | 3.2% | 6 |
| 2020–2025 | 780 | 3.5% | 6 |
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 | 27 | 22 | 0 | 55.1% |
| 2021 | 63 | 34 | 0 | 64.9% |
| 2022 | 55 | 43 | 0 | 56.1% |
| 2023 | 133 | 42 | 0 | 76.0% |
| 2024 | 131 | 51 | 0 | 72.0% |
| 2025 | 90 | 89 | 0 | 50.3% |
| 2020–2025 | 499 | 281 | 0 | 64.0% |
By industry
| FDA industry | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamins, Minerals, Proteins, and Unconventional Dietary Specialties for Humans rates → Herbals-botanicals · Supplements |
18 | 23 | 28 | 95 | 84 | 42 | 290 (37.2%) | +133% |
| Vegetables and Vegetable Products rates → Leafy · Pepper · Vegetables-other |
5 | 30 | 29 | 25 | 44 | 42 | 175 (22.4%) | — |
| Fruit and Fruit Products rates → Berries-grapes · Citrus · Fruit-other · Stone-fruit · Tropical |
6 | 6 | 6 | 34 | 11 | 15 | 78 (10.0%) | — |
| Fishery/Seafood Products | 2 | 4 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 32 (4.1%) | — |
| Bakery Products, Doughs, Bakery Mixes, and Icings rates → Bakery |
1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 20 | 31 (4.0%) | — |
| Candy Without Chocolate, Candy Specialties, and Chewing Gum rates → Candy |
0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 22 (2.8%) | — |
| Soft Drinks and Waters rates → Soft-drinks |
0 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 20 (2.6%) | — |
| Spices, Flavors, and Salts | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 19 (2.4%) | — |
| Nuts and Edible Seeds rates → Almond · Groundnut · Other-nuts · Sesame |
3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 17 (2.2%) | — |
| Whole Grains, Milled Grain Products, and Starch | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 17 (2.2%) | — |
| Chocolate and Cocoa Products rates → Chocolate-cocoa |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 16 (2.1%) | — |
| Dressings and Condiments | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 12 (1.5%) | — |
| Milk, Butter, and Dried Milk Products rates → | 0 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 (1.5%) | — |
| Multiple Food Dinners, Gravies, Sauces, and Specialties (Total Diet) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 9 (1.2%) | — |
| Dietary Conventional Foods and Meal Replacements | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 (0.9%) | — |
| Beverage Bases | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 (0.6%) | — |
| Snack Food Items (Flour, Meal, or Vegetable Base) rates → Snacks |
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 (0.5%) | — |
| Cereal Preparations, Breakfast Foods rates → | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 (0.4%) | — |
| Coffee and Tea rates → | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 (0.4%) | — |
| Food Sweeteners (Nutritive) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 (0.3%) | — |
| Cheese and Cheese Products rates → | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (0.1%) | — |
| Egg and Egg Products | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.1%) | — |
| Meat, Meat Products, and Poultry | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.1%) | — |
| Prepared Salad | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 (0.1%) | new |
| Vegetable Oils (Includes Olive Oil) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.1%) | — |
| Vegetable Protein Products (Simulated Meats) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.1%) | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labelling (paperwork) | 16 | 35 | 29 | 40 | 53 | 56 | 229 (29.4%) | +250% |
| Filth and insanitary conditions (hazard) | 8 | 12 | 17 | 85 | 57 | 14 | 193 (24.7%) | — |
| Process and registration (paperwork) | 15 | 13 | 27 | 19 | 48 | 63 | 185 (23.7%) | +320% |
| Pesticide residues (hazard) | 13 | 23 | 18 | 29 | 44 | 22 | 149 (19.1%) | +69% |
| Unsafe additives (hazard) | 5 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 21 | 35 | 84 (10.8%) | — |
| Contaminants (hazard) | 2 | 10 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 43 (5.5%) | — |
| Salmonella (hazard) | 0 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 32 (4.1%) | — |
| Undeclared allergens (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 12 (1.5%) | — |
| Listeria monocytogenes (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 (0.5%) | — |
| Mycotoxins (hazard) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.1%) | — |
| Other pathogens (hazard) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.1%) | — |
| Veterinary drug residues (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (0.1%) | — |
| Other charges (no group) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 12 (1.5%) | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
filth FILTHY |
5 | 11 | 12 | 80 | 53 | 8 | 169 | — |
pesticide residue PESTICIDE |
13 | 23 | 18 | 29 | 44 | 22 | 149 | +69% |
unsafe color additive UNSAFE COL |
2 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 16 | 32 | 65 | — |
poisonous or deleterious substance POISONOUS |
1 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 33 | — |
Salmonella SALMONELLA |
0 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 32 | — |
unsafe food additive UNSAFE ADD |
3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 13 | — |
FD&C Yellow No. 5 undeclared YELLOW #5 |
1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 13 | — |
undeclared allergen ALLERGEN |
0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 12 | — |
insanitary plant MFR INSAN |
2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 12 | — |
insanitary conditions INSANITARY |
1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | — |
Paperwork charges
| Charge | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
nutrition labeling NUTRIT LBL |
5 | 23 | 18 | 20 | 31 | 21 | 118 | — |
unapproved new drug UNAPPROVED |
12 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 72 | +42% |
no net quantity LACKS N/C |
1 | 18 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 60 | — |
FSVP violation FSVP VIO |
0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 28 | 44 | — |
false or misleading label FALSE |
4 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 13 | 42 | — |
ingredients not listed LIST INGRE |
0 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 41 | — |
supplement labeling DIETARYLBL |
4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 35 | — |
no manufacturer name LACKS FIRM |
3 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 30 | — |
forbidden substance FORBIDDEN |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 26 | — |
labeling LABELING |
5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 26 | — |
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 August.
Hazard or paperwork
| Kind | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazard findings | 30 | 33 | 38 | 26 | 28 | 48 | 52 | 34 | 70 | 44 | 37 | 59 | September |
| Paperwork only | 11 | 23 | 32 | 22 | 29 | 31 | 15 | 36 | 20 | 26 | 20 | 16 | August |
By charge group
| Charge group | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labelling | 4 | 15 | 28 | 19 | 17 | 26 | 17 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 13 | 19 | March |
| Filth and insanitary conditions | 12 | 15 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 30 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 15 | 15 | 30 | June |
| Process and registration | 6 | 13 | 21 | 17 | 22 | 36 | 8 | 21 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 9 | June |
| Pesticide residues | 7 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 21 | 13 | 34 | 17 | 11 | 6 | September |
| Unsafe additives | 3 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 10 | July |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DNBI — North Border, the Canadian land border | 41 | 91 | 90 | 164 | 170 | 163 | 719 | +298% |
| DSEI — Southeast | 7 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 44 | — |
| DWCI — West Coast | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 14 | — |
| DNEI — Northeast | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — |
| DSWI — Southwest, the Mexican land border | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — |
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 "Canada: FDA food import refusals, 2020–2025", fruit-risk.com, 2026-09-20, https://fdair.fruit-risk.com/reports/canada.html.
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