The U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service Updates Import Refusals Data

This update emphasizes FSIS’s ongoing measures to guarantee the safety of imported meat, poultry, and egg products. It also provides critical information for importers and other trade chain partners.

The U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced that it will update its publicly available dataset on import refusals for products regulated by the agency on August 15, 2024.

This dataset is part of FSIS’s ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of meat, poultry, and egg products entering the U.S. market.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), to be eligible for entry into the U.S., imported foods must:

• Be pure and wholesome
• Be safe to eat
• Be produced under sanitary conditions
• Include informative and truthful labeling
• Meet U.S. standards 

Requirements to avoid import refusals

Importers of any goods into the U.S. must submit an entry form to the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) within five business days of the shipment's arrival at a U.S. port of entry.

For meat and poultry shipments in particular, FSIS requires two additional documents:

1. The original certificate from the country of origin showing that the product was inspected and approved by that country’s inspection service and is cleared for export to the U.S.

2. An import inspection application and report.

Additionally, CBP requires the importer to provide a bond, typically covering the value of the shipment plus any duties and fees.

Meat and poultry shipments remain under bond and may be recalled by CBP until FSIS completes its reinspection and approves the product for release.

If a shipment fails reinspection, FSIS will issue an import refusal and increase the inspection frequency for similar products from the same exporting establishment until compliance is restored.

The FSIS reinspection process

Federal law requires that every commercial shipment of imported meat, poultry, and egg products be reinspected by FSIS before it can enter the U.S.

Reinspections are essential to ensure that shipments meet all FSIS requirements. The reinspection process includes checking for:

• Proper labeling
• Certification
• General condition
• Any signs of tampering

FSIS also performs random or cause-based activities, such as physical examinations and laboratory testing for pathogens and chemical residues.

If products do not meet all FSIS requirements, they will be subject to import refusals.

Actions on import refusals

For import refusals, the importer has 45 days to take corrective action for meat and poultry products and 30 days for egg products.

The importer has the choice to either destroy the product, re-export it, convert it to animal food, or bring it into compliance with FSIS requirements, including, for example, relabeling the product or acquiring a replacement certificate.

Access to import refusals data

The import refusals data, which details each shipment refused entry, is updated around the 15th of each month and is available on this web page.

Additionally, archived datasets are updated quarterly. These datasets are accessible to the public and provide transparency about the products that have been denied entry into the U.S.

If you import meat, poultry, or eggs into the U.S., please reach out to one of our trade professionals to ensure you meet all requirements and avoid import refusals.