El Salvador: FDA food import refusals, 2020–2025
← all origin reports · El Salvador: refusals and rates, last 3 years →
El Salvador was the origin of 145 of 22,156 US food import refusals in 2020–2025 (0.7%), ranking 31st of 146 origins. 69% were hazard findings and 31% paperwork alone. 18% concerned vegetables and vegetable products; the most-cited safety charge was pesticide residue, and the most-cited paperwork charge unapproved new drug.
Every US food import refusal naming El Salvador 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 El Salvador? Get an email when shipments from El Salvador 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 | 17 | 0.6% | 29 |
| 2021 | 19 | 0.7% | 26 |
| 2022 | 19 | 0.6% | 31 |
| 2023 | 22 | 0.6% | 29 |
| 2024 | 30 | 0.8% | 24 |
| 2025 | 38 | 0.7% | 29 |
| 2020–2025 | 145 | 0.7% | 31 |
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 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 94.1% |
| 2021 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 57.9% |
| 2022 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 68.4% |
| 2023 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 59.1% |
| 2024 | 22 | 8 | 0 | 73.3% |
| 2025 | 25 | 13 | 0 | 65.8% |
| 2020–2025 | 100 | 45 | 0 | 69.0% |
By industry
| FDA industry | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 26 (17.9%) | — |
| Cheese and Cheese Products | 8 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 25 (17.2%) | — |
| Vitamins, Minerals, Proteins, and Unconventional Dietary Specialties for Humans rates → Herbals-botanicals · Supplements |
1 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 23 (15.9%) | — |
| Whole Grains, Milled Grain Products, and Starch | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 19 (13.1%) | — |
| Fruit and Fruit Products | 0 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 14 (9.7%) | — |
| Beverage Bases | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 (4.1%) | — |
| Soft Drinks and Waters | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 (4.1%) | — |
| Candy Without Chocolate, Candy Specialties, and Chewing Gum rates → Candy |
0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 (3.4%) | — |
| Bakery Products, Doughs, Bakery Mixes, and Icings | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 (2.1%) | — |
| Dressings and Condiments | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 (2.1%) | — |
| Multiple Food Dinners, Gravies, Sauces, and Specialties (Total Diet) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 (2.1%) | — |
| Snack Food Items (Flour, Meal, or Vegetable Base) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 (2.1%) | — |
| Food Sweeteners (Nutritive) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 (1.4%) | — |
| Chocolate and Cocoa Products | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 (0.7%) | new |
| Filled Milk and Imitation Milk Products | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.7%) | — |
| Fishery/Seafood Products | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.7%) | — |
| Ice Cream and Related Products | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.7%) | — |
| Macaroni and Noodle Products | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.7%) | — |
| Milk, Butter, and Dried Milk Products | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 (0.7%) | new |
| Soups | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 (0.7%) | new |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Process and registration (paperwork) | 1 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 37 (25.5%) | — |
| Filth and insanitary conditions (hazard) | 7 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 35 (24.1%) | — |
| Pesticide residues (hazard) | 6 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 31 (21.4%) | — |
| Labelling (paperwork) | 0 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 23 (15.9%) | — |
| Mycotoxins (hazard) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 18 (12.4%) | — |
| Unsafe additives (hazard) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 8 (5.5%) | — |
| Contaminants (hazard) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 (4.1%) | — |
| Undeclared allergens (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 (1.4%) | — |
| Other pathogens (hazard) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 (1.4%) | — |
| Salmonella (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.7%) | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
pesticide residue PESTICIDE |
6 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 31 | — |
insanitary conditions INSANITARY |
7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 19 | — |
filth FILTHY |
0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 14 | — |
mycotoxin MYCOTOXIN |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 12 | — |
unsafe color additive UNSAFE COL |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | — |
aflatoxin AFLATOXIN |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | — |
poisonous or deleterious substance POISONOUS |
1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | — |
undeclared allergen ALLERGEN |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — |
bacterial contamination BACTERIA |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — |
insanitary plant MFR INSAN |
0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — |
Paperwork charges
| Charge | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
unapproved new drug UNAPPROVED |
0 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 20 | — |
not in English NO ENGLISH |
0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 13 | — |
FSVP violation FSVP VIO |
0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 | — |
nutrition labeling NUTRIT LBL |
0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 10 | — |
no process filing NO PROCESS |
1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | — |
ingredients not listed LIST INGRE |
0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | — |
labeling LABELING |
0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — |
no food-canning registration NEEDS FCE |
0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | — |
color not declared COLOR LBLG |
0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | — |
false or misleading label FALSE |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 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 July; Paperwork only peak in August.
Hazard or paperwork
| Kind | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazard findings | 9 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 11 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 11 | 9 | 8 | July |
| Paperwork only | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 7 | August |
By charge group
| Charge group | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Process and registration | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 7 | December |
| Filth and insanitary conditions | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | June |
| Pesticide residues | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | July |
| Labelling | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | October |
| Mycotoxins | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DNEI — Northeast | 11 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 25 | 64 | +127% |
| DSEI — Southeast | 1 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 29 | — |
| DWCI — West Coast | 3 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 23 | — |
| DSWI — Southwest, the Mexican land border | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 20 | — |
| DNBI — North Border, the Canadian land border | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | — |
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 "El Salvador: FDA food import refusals, 2020–2025", fruit-risk.com, 2026-09-20, https://fdair.fruit-risk.com/reports/el-salvador.html.
All origins together ·Dominican Republic · Peru · Germany · All origin reports