Hong Kong: FDA food import refusals, 2020–2025
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Hong Kong was the origin of 176 of 22,156 US food import refusals in 2020–2025 (0.8%), ranking 23rd of 146 origins. 79% were hazard findings and 21% paperwork alone. 34% concerned fishery/seafood products; the most-cited safety charge was filth, and the most-cited paperwork charge no manufacturer name.
Every US food import refusal naming Hong Kong 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 | 31 | 1.1% | 18 |
| 2021 | 17 | 0.6% | 29 |
| 2022 | 40 | 1.2% | 17 |
| 2023 | 22 | 0.6% | 29 |
| 2024 | 28 | 0.7% | 28 |
| 2025 | 38 | 0.7% | 29 |
| 2020–2025 | 176 | 0.8% | 23 |
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 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 83.9% |
| 2021 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 70.6% |
| 2022 | 33 | 7 | 0 | 82.5% |
| 2023 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 95.5% |
| 2024 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 85.7% |
| 2025 | 23 | 15 | 0 | 60.5% |
| 2020–2025 | 139 | 37 | 0 | 79.0% |
By industry
| FDA industry | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fishery/Seafood Products rates → Fish-other · Shrimp-prawn · Squid-octopus |
9 | 11 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 4 | 59 (33.5%) | — |
| Vitamins, Minerals, Proteins, and Unconventional Dietary Specialties for Humans | 10 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 15 | 47 (26.7%) | +50% |
| Vegetables and Vegetable Products rates → Leafy · Pepper · Vegetables-other |
3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 27 (15.3%) | — |
| Fruit and Fruit Products rates → Fruit-other · Stone-fruit · Tropical |
3 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 23 (13.1%) | — |
| Bakery Products, Doughs, Bakery Mixes, and Icings | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 (2.3%) | — |
| Candy Without Chocolate, Candy Specialties, and Chewing Gum | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 (1.7%) | — |
| Nuts and Edible Seeds | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 (1.7%) | — |
| Spices, Flavors, and Salts | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (1.1%) | — |
| Whole Grains, Milled Grain Products, and Starch | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 (1.1%) | — |
| Dietary Conventional Foods and Meal Replacements | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 (0.6%) | new |
| Dressings and Condiments | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.6%) | — |
| Macaroni and Noodle Products | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.6%) | — |
| Meat, Meat Products, and Poultry | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.6%) | — |
| Milk, Butter, and Dried Milk Products | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.6%) | — |
| Soft Drinks and Waters rates → Soft-drinks |
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 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) | 13 | 10 | 19 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 80 (45.5%) | +0% |
| Labelling (paperwork) | 3 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 32 (18.2%) | — |
| Pesticide residues (hazard) | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 6 | 32 (18.2%) | — |
| Unsafe additives (hazard) | 8 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 20 (11.4%) | — |
| Process and registration (paperwork) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 15 (8.5%) | — |
| Contaminants (hazard) | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 (5.1%) | — |
| Veterinary drug residues (hazard) | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 (4.5%) | — |
| Salmonella (hazard) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 (2.3%) | — |
| Mycotoxins (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 (1.7%) | — |
| Undeclared allergens (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.6%) | — |
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 |
12 | 10 | 18 | 15 | 9 | 12 | 76 | +0% |
pesticide residue PESTICIDE |
3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 6 | 32 | — |
unsafe food additive UNSAFE ADD |
0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 10 | — |
veterinary drug residue VETDRUGRES |
1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | — |
unsafe dietary ingredient UNSFDIETSP |
7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | — |
melamine MELAMINE |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | — |
poisonous or deleterious substance POISONOUS |
1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | — |
Salmonella SALMONELLA |
1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | — |
unfit for food UNFIT4FOOD |
1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | — |
aflatoxin AFLATOXIN |
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | — |
Paperwork charges
| Charge | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
no manufacturer name LACKS FIRM |
1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 12 | — |
ingredients not listed LIST INGRE |
2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 11 | — |
no contact information NCONTACT |
0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 11 | — |
nutrition labeling NUTRIT LBL |
1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | — |
supplement labeling DIETARYLBL |
0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | — |
unapproved new drug UNAPPROVED |
0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 | — |
label not conspicuous INCONSPICU |
1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | — |
dietary ingredient labeling DIETARYING |
0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | — |
labeling LABELING |
0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | — |
sulfites not declared SULFITELBL |
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | — |
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 November; Paperwork only peak in April.
Hazard or paperwork
| Kind | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazard findings | 11 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 25 | 7 | November |
| Paperwork only | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 2 | April |
By charge group
| Charge group | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Filth and insanitary conditions | 8 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 6 | November |
| Labelling | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 1 | October |
| Pesticide residues | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | November |
| Unsafe additives | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | August |
| Process and registration | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DWCI — West Coast | 16 | 9 | 24 | 17 | 16 | 11 | 93 | −31% |
| DNEI — Northeast | 6 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 50 | — |
| DSEI — Southeast | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 31 | — |
| DNBI — North Border, the Canadian land border | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — |
| DSWI — Southwest, the Mexican land border | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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 "Hong Kong: FDA food import refusals, 2020–2025", fruit-risk.com, 2026-09-20, https://fdair.fruit-risk.com/reports/hong-kong.html.
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