Guatemala: FDA food import refusals, 2020–2025
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Guatemala was the origin of 378 of 22,156 US food import refusals in 2020–2025 (1.7%), ranking 11th of 146 origins. 60% were hazard findings and 40% paperwork alone. 22% concerned vegetables and vegetable products; the most-cited safety charge was pesticide residue, and the most-cited paperwork charge not in English.
Every US food import refusal naming Guatemala 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 | 25 | 0.9% | 19 |
| 2022 | 72 | 2.1% | 8 |
| 2023 | 63 | 1.8% | 10 |
| 2024 | 94 | 2.4% | 7 |
| 2025 | 98 | 1.7% | 10 |
| 2020–2025 | 378 | 1.7% | 11 |
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 | 18 | 8 | 0 | 69.2% |
| 2021 | 17 | 8 | 0 | 68.0% |
| 2022 | 53 | 19 | 0 | 73.6% |
| 2023 | 47 | 16 | 0 | 74.6% |
| 2024 | 37 | 57 | 0 | 39.4% |
| 2025 | 54 | 44 | 0 | 55.1% |
| 2020–2025 | 226 | 152 | 0 | 59.8% |
By industry
| FDA industry | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 8 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 85 (22.5%) | — |
| Fruit and Fruit Products rates → Berries-grapes · Citrus · Fruit-other · Tropical |
7 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 24 | 12 | 67 (17.7%) | — |
| Nuts and Edible Seeds | 0 | 1 | 32 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 47 (12.4%) | — |
| Vitamins, Minerals, Proteins, and Unconventional Dietary Specialties for Humans rates → Herbals-botanicals · Supplements |
5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 30 | 45 (11.9%) | — |
| Soft Drinks and Waters | 0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 17 | 10 | 37 (9.8%) | — |
| Snack Food Items (Flour, Meal, or Vegetable Base) rates → Snacks |
0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 28 (7.4%) | — |
| Milk, Butter, and Dried Milk Products | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 (3.4%) | — |
| Candy Without Chocolate, Candy Specialties, and Chewing Gum | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 8 (2.1%) | — |
| Bakery Products, Doughs, Bakery Mixes, and Icings | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 (1.9%) | — |
| Beverage Bases | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 (1.9%) | — |
| Fishery/Seafood Products | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 (1.9%) | — |
| Spices, Flavors, and Salts rates → Spices-other |
4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 (1.9%) | — |
| Filled Milk and Imitation Milk Products | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 (1.3%) | — |
| Soups | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 (1.1%) | — |
| Cereal Preparations, Breakfast Foods | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 (0.8%) | — |
| Whole Grains, Milled Grain Products, and Starch | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 (0.8%) | — |
| Chocolate and Cocoa Products rates → Chocolate-cocoa |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 (0.5%) | — |
| Dietary Conventional Foods and Meal Replacements | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 (0.5%) | new |
| Multiple Food Dinners, Gravies, Sauces, and Specialties (Total Diet) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labelling (paperwork) | 3 | 11 | 19 | 24 | 61 | 28 | 146 (38.6%) | — |
| Pesticide residues (hazard) | 12 | 8 | 20 | 27 | 17 | 34 | 118 (31.2%) | +183% |
| Process and registration (paperwork) | 7 | 2 | 14 | 12 | 7 | 32 | 74 (19.6%) | — |
| Unsafe additives (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 7 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 51 (13.5%) | — |
| Salmonella (hazard) | 1 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 (5.0%) | — |
| Contaminants (hazard) | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 15 (4.0%) | — |
| Undeclared allergens (hazard) | 0 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 14 (3.7%) | — |
| Filth and insanitary conditions (hazard) | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 14 (3.7%) | — |
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 |
12 | 8 | 20 | 27 | 17 | 34 | 118 | +183% |
unsafe color additive UNSAFE COL |
0 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 41 | — |
Salmonella SALMONELLA |
1 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | — |
poisonous or deleterious substance POISONOUS |
2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 14 | — |
undeclared allergen ALLERGEN |
0 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 13 | — |
filth FILTHY |
1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 11 | — |
unsafe food additive UNSAFE ADD |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 7 | — |
FD&C Yellow No. 5 undeclared YELLOW #5 |
0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | — |
insanitary plant MFR INSAN |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | — |
insanitary handling MFR INJ |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | — |
Paperwork charges
| Charge | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
not in English NO ENGLISH |
3 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 42 | 17 | 91 | — |
nutrition labeling NUTRIT LBL |
2 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 35 | 12 | 72 | — |
unapproved new drug UNAPPROVED |
5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 30 | 45 | — |
color not declared COLOR LBLG |
0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 18 | 11 | 44 | — |
juice percentage not declared JUICE % |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 11 | 27 | — |
no process filing NO PROCESS |
2 | 1 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 26 | — |
no net quantity LACKS N/C |
1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 25 | — |
ingredients not listed LIST INGRE |
0 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 24 | — |
labeling LABELING |
0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 4 | 23 | — |
no food-canning registration NEEDS FCE |
0 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 18 | — |
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 November.
Hazard or paperwork
| Kind | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazard findings | 12 | 12 | 18 | 21 | 18 | 18 | 10 | 19 | 29 | 22 | 28 | 19 | September |
| Paperwork only | 6 | 8 | 10 | 5 | 12 | 13 | 7 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 24 | 18 | November |
By charge group
| Charge group | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labelling | 7 | 6 | 11 | 10 | 16 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 11 | 18 | 22 | 15 | November |
| Pesticide residues | 6 | 9 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 9 | 18 | 4 | 13 | 8 | September |
| Process and registration | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 10 | September |
| Unsafe additives | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 6 | September |
| Salmonella | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 1 | October |
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 | 13 | 32 | 30 | 81 | 75 | 246 | +400% |
| DSWI — Southwest, the Mexican land border | 3 | 3 | 13 | 4 | 6 | 17 | 46 | — |
| DNEI — Northeast | 4 | 4 | 11 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 44 | — |
| DWCI — West Coast | 4 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 32 | — |
| DNBI — North Border, the Canadian land border | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | — |
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 "Guatemala: FDA food import refusals, 2020–2025", fruit-risk.com, 2026-09-20, https://fdair.fruit-risk.com/reports/guatemala.html.
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