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ECLAC Observatory for Imports Identifies Refused Products by the United States

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Photo: Carlos Vera/ECLAC

Between 2002 and 2012, the United States refused 166,392 food products coming from foreign countries, with the large majority (79,078) corresponding to shipments originating in Asia, followed by those from Latin America and the Caribbean (37,303). Europe follows closely with 35,022.

These are some of the figures available to the public included in the Observatory of Imports Customs Control (OCAI, by its Spanish acronym), developed by the ECLAC Office in Washington D.C.

OCAI is an on-line tool (available at www.ocaiweb.org) containing data compiled by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the shipments that have been refused entry to the United States. Includes a description of the product refused, the date of refusal, country of origin and reason of refusal.

The yearly number of refusals has been slowly increasing, from 13,229 in 2002 to 16,391 in 2012. The increase is almost entirely due to the rise in refusals of products from Asia.

At the global level, the products most frequently refused entry are fish and seafood products, bakery products and vegetables and vegetable products and the most common reasons refer to hygienic conditions, the presence of pathogens or chemicals.

The noncompliance with United States labeling requirements and to the lack of approval of the product or the process of production were also factors, especially among bakery products. For Latin America and the Caribbean, the most prevalent reasons for refusal include hygienic conditions, the presence of salmonella and unsafe levels of pesticide.

The database allows the user to search and select information based on any of the indicated variables and the results are then down-loadable in multiple formats. The database is updated once a month.

For the full report, with details on the top refused products and refusal reasons for 2012, please visit the ECLAC Washington Office website.

 


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  The Observatory of Imports Customs Control (OCAI), developed by the ECLAC Office in Washington D.C., identifies the shipments that have been refused entry to the United States.
 
  The yearly number of refusals has been slowly increasing, from 13,229 in 2002 to 16,391 in 2012, almost entirely due to the rise in refusals of products from Asia.