France: FDA food import refusals, 2020–2025
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France was the origin of 93 of 22,156 US food import refusals in 2020–2025 (0.4%), ranking 39th of 146 origins. 53% were hazard findings and 47% paperwork alone. 41% concerned cheese and cheese products; the most-cited safety charge was Listeria monocytogenes, and the most-cited paperwork charge nutrition labeling.
Every US food import refusal naming France 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 | 21 | 0.8% | 26 |
| 2021 | 7 | 0.2% | 52 |
| 2022 | 11 | 0.3% | 40 |
| 2023 | 13 | 0.4% | 44 |
| 2024 | 16 | 0.4% | 39 |
| 2025 | 25 | 0.4% | 40 |
| 2020–2025 | 93 | 0.4% | 39 |
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 | 5 | 16 | 0 | 23.8% |
| 2021 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 71.4% |
| 2022 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 45.5% |
| 2023 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 30.8% |
| 2024 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 81.2% |
| 2025 | 17 | 8 | 0 | 68.0% |
| 2020–2025 | 49 | 44 | 0 | 52.7% |
By industry
| FDA industry | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheese and Cheese Products rates → | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 16 | 38 (40.9%) | — |
| Fruit and Fruit Products | 11 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 (16.1%) | −100% |
| Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 11 (11.8%) | — |
| Vitamins, Minerals, Proteins, and Unconventional Dietary Specialties for Humans | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 (6.5%) | — |
| Baby (Infant and Junior) Food Products rates → | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 (4.3%) | — |
| Bakery Products, Doughs, Bakery Mixes, and Icings | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 (4.3%) | — |
| Fishery/Seafood Products | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 (4.3%) | — |
| Dietary Conventional Foods and Meal Replacements | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 (3.2%) | — |
| Vegetable Oils (Includes Olive Oil) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 (2.2%) | — |
| Whole Grains, Milled Grain Products, and Starch | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (2.2%) | — |
| Beverage Bases | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1.1%) | — |
| Candy Without Chocolate, Candy Specialties, and Chewing Gum | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1.1%) | — |
| Food Sweeteners (Nutritive) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1.1%) | — |
| Milk, Butter, and Dried Milk Products | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (1.1%) | — |
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 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 41 (44.1%) | −56% |
| Listeria monocytogenes (hazard) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 23 (24.7%) | — |
| Process and registration (paperwork) | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 19 (20.4%) | — |
| Unsafe additives (hazard) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 14 (15.1%) | — |
| Pesticide residues (hazard) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 (6.5%) | — |
| Contaminants (hazard) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 (4.3%) | — |
| Filth and insanitary conditions (hazard) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 (4.3%) | — |
| Undeclared allergens (hazard) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 (2.2%) | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Listeria monocytogenes LISTERIA |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 23 | — |
unsafe color additive UNSAFE COL |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 11 | — |
pesticide residue PESTICIDE |
1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | — |
filth FILTHY |
0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | — |
poisonous or deleterious substance POISONOUS |
0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — |
unsafe food additive UNSAFE ADD |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | — |
undeclared allergen ALLERGEN |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | — |
Paperwork charges
| Charge | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
nutrition labeling NUTRIT LBL |
16 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 27 | −88% |
not in English NO ENGLISH |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 13 | — |
no process filing NO PROCESS |
1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | — |
no manufacturer name LACKS FIRM |
6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | — |
no net quantity LACKS N/C |
3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | — |
ingredients not listed LIST INGRE |
4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | — |
no food-canning registration NEEDS FCE |
1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | — |
unapproved new drug UNAPPROVED |
0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — |
color not declared COLOR LBLG |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | — |
false or misleading label FALSE |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 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 February.
Hazard or paperwork
| Kind | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazard findings | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 4 | September |
| Paperwork only | 7 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | February |
By charge group
| Charge group | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labelling | 5 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 2 | February |
| Listeria monocytogenes | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2 | September |
| Process and registration | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | November |
| Unsafe additives | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | August |
| Pesticide residues | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | January |
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 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 40 | — |
| DSEI — Southeast | 5 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 25 | — |
| DWCI — West Coast | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 17 | — |
| DNBI — North Border, the Canadian land border | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | — |
| DSWI — Southwest, the Mexican land border | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | — |
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 "France: FDA food import refusals, 2020–2025", fruit-risk.com, 2026-09-20, https://fdair.fruit-risk.com/reports/france.html.
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