Ecuador: FDA food import refusals, 2020–2025
← all origin reports · Ecuador: refusals and rates, last 3 years →
Ecuador was the origin of 154 of 22,156 US food import refusals in 2020–2025 (0.7%), ranking 28th of 146 origins. 79% were hazard findings and 21% paperwork alone. 48% concerned fishery/seafood products; the most-cited safety charge was filth, and the most-cited paperwork charge not in English.
Every US food import refusal naming Ecuador 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).
Exporting from Ecuador? Get an email when shipments from Ecuador 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.
By year
| Year | Refusals | Share of US total | Rank among origins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 26 | 1.0% | 20 |
| 2021 | 16 | 0.6% | 34 |
| 2022 | 22 | 0.6% | 28 |
| 2023 | 30 | 0.9% | 21 |
| 2024 | 33 | 0.8% | 22 |
| 2025 | 27 | 0.5% | 38 |
| 2020–2025 | 154 | 0.7% | 28 |
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 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 84.6% |
| 2021 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 87.5% |
| 2022 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 95.5% |
| 2023 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 93.3% |
| 2024 | 21 | 12 | 0 | 63.6% |
| 2025 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 59.3% |
| 2020–2025 | 122 | 32 | 0 | 79.2% |
By industry
| FDA industry | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fishery/Seafood Products rates → Fish-other · Shrimp-prawn · Tuna |
5 | 5 | 18 | 20 | 17 | 9 | 74 (48.1%) | — |
| Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 12 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 25 (16.2%) | −83% |
| Fruit and Fruit Products | 1 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 19 (12.3%) | — |
| Vitamins, Minerals, Proteins, and Unconventional Dietary Specialties for Humans rates → Herbals-botanicals · Supplements |
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 (5.2%) | — |
| Cheese and Cheese Products | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 (3.9%) | — |
| Soft Drinks and Waters | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 (3.9%) | — |
| Spices, Flavors, and Salts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 (3.2%) | — |
| Bakery Products, Doughs, Bakery Mixes, and Icings | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 (1.9%) | — |
| Snack Food Items (Flour, Meal, or Vegetable Base) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 (1.3%) | — |
| Beverage Bases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.6%) | — |
| Coffee and Tea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 (0.6%) | new |
| Dietary Conventional Foods and Meal Replacements | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (0.6%) | — |
| Filled Milk and Imitation Milk Products | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.6%) | — |
| Milk, Butter, and Dried Milk Products | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.6%) | — |
| Whole Grains, Milled Grain Products, and Starch | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.6%) | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Filth and insanitary conditions (hazard) | 5 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 8 | 69 (44.8%) | — |
| Labelling (paperwork) | 1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 28 (18.2%) | — |
| Pesticide residues (hazard) | 13 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 25 (16.2%) | −69% |
| Process and registration (paperwork) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 7 | 19 (12.3%) | — |
| Histamine (hazard) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 11 (7.1%) | — |
| Contaminants (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 9 (5.8%) | — |
| Unsafe additives (hazard) | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 (5.8%) | — |
| Salmonella (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 (5.2%) | — |
| Veterinary drug residues (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 (1.9%) | — |
| Undeclared allergens (hazard) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (1.3%) | — |
| Listeria monocytogenes (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 (1.3%) | — |
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 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 6 | 64 | — |
pesticide residue PESTICIDE |
13 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 25 | −69% |
histamine HISTAMINE |
1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 11 | — |
Salmonella SALMONELLA |
0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | — |
poisonous or deleterious substance POISONOUS |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | — |
unsafe color additive UNSAFE COL |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | — |
poisonous substance POISONORD |
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | — |
unsafe food additive UNSAFE ADD |
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — |
insanitary plant MFR INSAN |
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | — |
undeclared allergen ALLERGEN |
0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — |
Paperwork charges
| Charge | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
not in English NO ENGLISH |
1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 15 | — |
no manufacturer name LACKS FIRM |
0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 11 | — |
nutrition labeling NUTRIT LBL |
0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 9 | — |
unapproved new drug UNAPPROVED |
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | — |
ingredients not listed LIST INGRE |
0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | — |
no common name USUAL NAME |
0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | — |
labeling LABELING |
0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | — |
no process filing NO PROCESS |
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | — |
no net quantity LACKS N/C |
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | — |
FSVP violation FSVP VIO |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | — |
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 May; Paperwork only peak in August.
Hazard or paperwork
| Kind | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazard findings | 7 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 5 | May |
| Paperwork only | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | August |
By charge group
| Charge group | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Filth and insanitary conditions | 4 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 3 | May |
| Labelling | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | September |
| Pesticide residues | 1 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | February |
| Process and registration | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | August |
| Histamine | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | April |
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 | 15 | 6 | 8 | 17 | 15 | 10 | 71 | −33% |
| DNEI — Northeast | 9 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 54 | — |
| DWCI — West Coast | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 19 | — |
| DNBI — North Border, the Canadian land border | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | — |
| DSWI — Southwest, the Mexican land border | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | — |
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 "Ecuador: FDA food import refusals, 2020–2025", fruit-risk.com, 2026-09-20, https://fdair.fruit-risk.com/reports/ecuador.html.
All origins together ·Chile · Dominican Republic · Peru · All origin reports