Sri Lanka: FDA food import refusals, 2020–2025
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Sri Lanka was the origin of 63 of 22,156 US food import refusals in 2020–2025 (0.3%), ranking 54th of 146 origins. 70% were hazard findings and 30% paperwork alone. 33% concerned fruit and fruit products; the most-cited safety charge was filth, and the most-cited paperwork charge unapproved new drug.
Every US food import refusal naming Sri Lanka 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 | 12 | 0.4% | 40 |
| 2021 | 13 | 0.4% | 38 |
| 2022 | 5 | 0.1% | 62 |
| 2023 | 5 | 0.1% | 58 |
| 2024 | 11 | 0.3% | 48 |
| 2025 | 17 | 0.3% | 49 |
| 2020–2025 | 63 | 0.3% | 54 |
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 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 66.7% |
| 2021 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 69.2% |
| 2022 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 80.0% |
| 2023 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 80.0% |
| 2024 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 81.8% |
| 2025 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 58.8% |
| 2020–2025 | 44 | 19 | 0 | 69.8% |
By industry
| FDA industry | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fruit and Fruit Products | 3 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 21 (33.3%) | — |
| Spices, Flavors, and Salts rates → Spices-other |
2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 17 (27.0%) | — |
| Fishery/Seafood Products | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 (17.5%) | — |
| Vitamins, Minerals, Proteins, and Unconventional Dietary Specialties for Humans rates → Herbals-botanicals · Supplements |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 (7.9%) | — |
| Bakery Products, Doughs, Bakery Mixes, and Icings | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 (4.8%) | — |
| Coffee and Tea | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 (4.8%) | — |
| Beverage Bases | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1.6%) | — |
| Nuts and Edible Seeds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 (1.6%) | new |
| Whole Grains, Milled Grain Products, and Starch | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1.6%) | — |
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) | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 29 (46.0%) | — |
| Process and registration (paperwork) | 3 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 21 (33.3%) | — |
| Labelling (paperwork) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 (17.5%) | — |
| Salmonella (hazard) | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 (15.9%) | — |
| Unsafe additives (hazard) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 (7.9%) | — |
| Pesticide residues (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 (3.2%) | — |
| Contaminants (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 (1.6%) | new |
| Histamine (hazard) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1.6%) | — |
| Mycotoxins (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1.6%) | — |
| Other charges (no group) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 (1.6%) | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
filth FILTHY |
7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 26 | — |
Salmonella SALMONELLA |
0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | — |
insanitary plant MFR INSAN |
0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | — |
unsafe color additive UNSAFE COL |
1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | — |
pesticide residue PESTICIDE |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — |
aflatoxin AF-NONRSP |
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — |
histamine HISTAMINE |
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — |
insanitary conditions INSANITARY |
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — |
lead PB-FOOD |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | new |
unsafe food additive UNSAFE ADD |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — |
Paperwork charges
| Charge | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
unapproved new drug UNAPPROVED |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8 | — |
inadequate process control INADPRCCTL |
0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | — |
no process filing NO PROCESS |
1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | — |
nutrition labeling NUTRIT LBL |
1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | — |
color not declared COLOR LBLG |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — |
ingredients not listed LIST INGRE |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | — |
no common name USUAL NAME |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | — |
FSVP violation FSVP VIO |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | new |
label not conspicuous INCONSPICU |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | — |
no food-canning registration NEEDS FCE |
0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — |
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 May; Paperwork only peak in January.
Hazard or paperwork
| Kind | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazard findings | 2 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 7 | May |
| Paperwork only | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | January |
By charge group
| Charge group | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Filth and insanitary conditions | 2 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | March |
| Process and registration | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | January |
| Labelling | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | September |
| Salmonella | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | June |
| Unsafe additives | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DWCI — West Coast | 5 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 31 | — |
| DNEI — Northeast | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 15 | — |
| DSEI — Southeast | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 10 | — |
| DNBI — North Border, the Canadian land border | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | — |
| DSWI — Southwest, the Mexican land border | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | — |
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 "Sri Lanka: FDA food import refusals, 2020–2025", fruit-risk.com, 2026-09-20, https://fdair.fruit-risk.com/reports/sri-lanka.html.
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