Philippines: FDA food import refusals, 2020–2025
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Philippines was the origin of 455 of 22,156 US food import refusals in 2020–2025 (2.1%), ranking 9th of 146 origins. 80% were hazard findings and 20% paperwork alone. 59% concerned multiple food dinners, gravies, sauces, and specialties (total diet); the most-cited safety charge was unsafe food additive, and the most-cited paperwork charge color not declared.
Every US food import refusal naming Philippines 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 | 38 | 1.4% | 15 |
| 2021 | 23 | 0.8% | 21 |
| 2022 | 26 | 0.8% | 23 |
| 2023 | 56 | 1.6% | 12 |
| 2024 | 145 | 3.6% | 6 |
| 2025 | 167 | 3.0% | 7 |
| 2020–2025 | 455 | 2.1% | 9 |
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 | 29 | 9 | 0 | 76.3% |
| 2021 | 15 | 8 | 0 | 65.2% |
| 2022 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 73.1% |
| 2023 | 34 | 22 | 0 | 60.7% |
| 2024 | 122 | 23 | 0 | 84.1% |
| 2025 | 143 | 24 | 0 | 85.6% |
| 2020–2025 | 362 | 93 | 0 | 79.6% |
By industry
| FDA industry | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Food Dinners, Gravies, Sauces, and Specialties (Total Diet) | 4 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 111 | 125 | 268 (58.9%) | — |
| Fishery/Seafood Products | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 15 | 52 (11.4%) | — |
| Bakery Products, Doughs, Bakery Mixes, and Icings rates → Bakery |
6 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 29 (6.4%) | — |
| Nuts and Edible Seeds | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 17 (3.7%) | — |
| Vegetables and Vegetable Products rates → Pepper · Vegetables-other |
4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 17 (3.7%) | — |
| Vitamins, Minerals, Proteins, and Unconventional Dietary Specialties for Humans rates → Herbals-botanicals · Supplements |
3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 14 (3.1%) | — |
| Snack Food Items (Flour, Meal, or Vegetable Base) rates → Snacks |
2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 12 (2.6%) | — |
| Macaroni and Noodle Products rates → Noodles-pasta |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 (2.0%) | — |
| Spices, Flavors, and Salts | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 (2.0%) | — |
| Whole Grains, Milled Grain Products, and Starch | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 (1.8%) | — |
| Coffee and Tea rates → | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 7 (1.5%) | — |
| Fruit and Fruit Products rates → Fruit-other · Tropical |
0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 (1.1%) | — |
| Candy Without Chocolate, Candy Specialties, and Chewing Gum | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 (0.7%) | — |
| Soft Drinks and Waters | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 (0.4%) | — |
| Dietary Conventional Foods and Meal Replacements | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.2%) | — |
| Dressings and Condiments | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (0.2%) | — |
| Ice Cream and Related Products | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.2%) | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe additives (hazard) | 7 | 5 | 6 | 18 | 110 | 122 | 268 (58.9%) | — |
| Labelling (paperwork) | 15 | 10 | 8 | 40 | 39 | 79 | 191 (42.0%) | +427% |
| Filth and insanitary conditions (hazard) | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 15 | 51 (11.2%) | — |
| Process and registration (paperwork) | 5 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 35 (7.7%) | — |
| Salmonella (hazard) | 5 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 26 (5.7%) | — |
| Undeclared allergens (hazard) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 11 (2.4%) | — |
| Other pathogens (hazard) | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 (1.8%) | — |
| Contaminants (hazard) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 (1.1%) | — |
| Mycotoxins (hazard) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 (0.7%) | — |
| Histamine (hazard) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (0.4%) | — |
| Pesticide residues (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.2%) | — |
| Other charges (no group) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 (0.2%) | new |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
unsafe food additive UNSAFE ADD |
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 95 | 94 | 190 | — |
unsafe color additive UNSAFE COL |
7 | 4 | 6 | 18 | 24 | 48 | 107 | — |
filth FILTHY |
5 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 40 | — |
Salmonella SALMONELLA |
5 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 26 | — |
undeclared allergen ALLERGEN |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 11 | — |
Vibrio VIBRIO |
5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | — |
insanitary conditions INSANITARY |
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | — |
insanitary plant MFR INSAN |
0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | — |
FD&C Yellow No. 5 undeclared YELLOW #5 |
1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | — |
mycotoxin MYCOTOXIN |
0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | — |
Paperwork charges
| Charge | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
color not declared COLOR LBLG |
11 | 4 | 5 | 24 | 27 | 51 | 122 | +364% |
nutrition labeling NUTRIT LBL |
4 | 7 | 1 | 19 | 15 | 51 | 97 | — |
false or misleading label FALSE |
3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 26 | 46 | — |
label not conspicuous INCONSPICU |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 23 | 30 | — |
ingredients not listed LIST INGRE |
2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 28 | — |
no net quantity LACKS N/C |
1 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 27 | — |
not in English NO ENGLISH |
0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 22 | — |
no common name USUAL NAME |
1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 18 | — |
no process filing NO PROCESS |
1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 12 | — |
inadequate process control INADPRCCTL |
0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | — |
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 December.
Hazard or paperwork
| Kind | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazard findings | 37 | 32 | 34 | 24 | 27 | 30 | 31 | 35 | 49 | 30 | 12 | 21 | September |
| Paperwork only | 6 | 9 | 2 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 5 | 13 | December |
By charge group
| Charge group | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe additives | 29 | 25 | 27 | 16 | 18 | 24 | 22 | 27 | 35 | 21 | 9 | 15 | September |
| Labelling | 16 | 16 | 12 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 26 | 22 | 10 | 21 | September |
| Filth and insanitary conditions | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | May |
| Process and registration | 2 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | February |
| Salmonella | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | September |
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 | 29 | 18 | 21 | 38 | 90 | 133 | 329 | +359% |
| DNEI — Northeast | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 42 | 24 | 79 | — |
| DSEI — Southeast | 3 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 28 | — |
| DNBI — North Border, the Canadian land border | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 11 | — |
| DSWI — Southwest, the Mexican land border | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 8 | — |
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 "Philippines: FDA food import refusals, 2020–2025", fruit-risk.com, 2026-09-20, https://fdair.fruit-risk.com/reports/philippines.html.
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