Malaysia: FDA food import refusals, 2020–2025
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Malaysia was the origin of 314 of 22,156 US food import refusals in 2020–2025 (1.4%), ranking 14th of 146 origins. 30% were hazard findings and 70% paperwork alone. 63% concerned vitamins, minerals, proteins, and unconventional dietary specialties for humans; the most-cited safety charge was Listeria monocytogenes, and the most-cited paperwork charge unapproved new drug.
Every US food import refusal naming Malaysia 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 | 14 | 0.5% | 33 |
| 2021 | 178 | 6.2% | 4 |
| 2022 | 44 | 1.3% | 13 |
| 2023 | 18 | 0.5% | 35 |
| 2024 | 32 | 0.8% | 23 |
| 2025 | 28 | 0.5% | 37 |
| 2020–2025 | 314 | 1.4% | 14 |
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 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 21.4% |
| 2021 | 14 | 164 | 0 | 7.9% |
| 2022 | 28 | 16 | 0 | 63.6% |
| 2023 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 55.6% |
| 2024 | 24 | 8 | 0 | 75.0% |
| 2025 | 16 | 12 | 0 | 57.1% |
| 2020–2025 | 95 | 219 | 0 | 30.3% |
By industry
| FDA industry | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamins, Minerals, Proteins, and Unconventional Dietary Specialties for Humans rates → Herbals-botanicals · Supplements |
9 | 163 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 199 (63.4%) | — |
| Fishery/Seafood Products rates → Fish-other · Shrimp-prawn |
0 | 4 | 25 | 9 | 24 | 12 | 74 (23.6%) | — |
| Food Sweeteners (Nutritive) | 1 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 15 (4.8%) | — |
| Bakery Products, Doughs, Bakery Mixes, and Icings | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 (1.6%) | — |
| Coffee and Tea rates → | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 (1.3%) | — |
| Candy Without Chocolate, Candy Specialties, and Chewing Gum | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 (1.0%) | — |
| Fruit and Fruit Products | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 (1.0%) | — |
| Chocolate and Cocoa Products | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 (0.6%) | new |
| Multiple Food Dinners, Gravies, Sauces, and Specialties (Total Diet) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 (0.6%) | new |
| Dietary Conventional Foods and Meal Replacements | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.3%) | — |
| Food Additives - for Human Use rates → | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.3%) | — |
| Gelatin, Rennet, Pudding Mixes, and Pie Fillings | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.3%) | — |
| Macaroni and Noodle Products | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (0.3%) | — |
| Soft Drinks and Waters | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (0.3%) | — |
| Spices, Flavors, and Salts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.3%) | — |
| Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Process and registration (paperwork) | 8 | 159 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 200 (63.7%) | — |
| Listeria monocytogenes (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 21 | 4 | 20 | 6 | 51 (16.2%) | — |
| Labelling (paperwork) | 6 | 27 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 50 (15.9%) | — |
| Unsafe additives (hazard) | 2 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 26 (8.3%) | — |
| Veterinary drug residues (hazard) | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 11 (3.5%) | — |
| Filth and insanitary conditions (hazard) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 (2.5%) | — |
| Contaminants (hazard) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 (1.3%) | — |
| Salmonella (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 (1.3%) | — |
| Histamine (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (0.6%) | — |
| Undeclared allergens (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 (0.3%) | new |
| Other charges (no group) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 (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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Listeria monocytogenes LISTERIA |
0 | 0 | 21 | 4 | 20 | 6 | 51 | — |
unsafe food additive UNSAFE ADD |
1 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 21 | — |
veterinary drug residue VETDRUGRES |
0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 11 | — |
filth FILTHY |
1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | — |
poisonous or deleterious substance POISONOUS |
0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — |
Salmonella SALMONELLA |
0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | — |
unsafe color additive UNSAFE COL |
1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | — |
FD&C Yellow No. 5 undeclared YELLOW #5 |
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | — |
histamine HISTAMINE |
0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — |
undeclared allergen ALLERGEN |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | new |
Paperwork charges
| Charge | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
unapproved new drug UNAPPROVED |
8 | 157 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 191 | — |
nutrition labeling NUTRIT LBL |
6 | 18 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 34 | — |
ingredients not listed LIST INGRE |
3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 14 | — |
no manufacturer name LACKS FIRM |
0 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 13 | — |
supplement labeling DIETARYLBL |
1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 10 | — |
labeling LABELING |
5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | — |
label not conspicuous INCONSPICU |
2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | — |
not in English NO ENGLISH |
1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | — |
no net quantity LACKS N/C |
0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | — |
no contact information NCONTACT |
2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | — |
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 June; Paperwork only peak in August.
Hazard or paperwork
| Kind | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazard findings | 5 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 7 | 11 | June |
| Paperwork only | 3 | 15 | 23 | 15 | 19 | 30 | 30 | 44 | 19 | 10 | 3 | 8 | August |
By charge group
| Charge group | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Process and registration | 2 | 13 | 23 | 14 | 19 | 26 | 28 | 43 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 7 | August |
| Listeria monocytogenes | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | June |
| Labelling | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | September |
| Unsafe additives | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | August |
| Veterinary drug residues | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | May |
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 | 10 | 160 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 203 | −10% |
| DWCI — West Coast | 1 | 6 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 45 | — |
| DNEI — Northeast | 1 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 15 | 10 | 42 | — |
| DNBI — North Border, the Canadian land border | 2 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 24 | — |
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 "Malaysia: FDA food import refusals, 2020–2025", fruit-risk.com, 2026-09-20, https://fdair.fruit-risk.com/reports/malaysia.html.
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