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FDA Detention Sampling & Testing Services

Products & Industries

FDA Detention Testing Support by Product & Industry

Different products face different FDA import alerts, charges, and testing requirements. Find your category below for a plain-language look at why shipments get detained, which alerts apply, and what sampling and testing typically involve.

A range of imported product categories subject to FDA import detention and testing

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Testing Is Never One-Size-Fits-All

The right sampling plan, laboratory, and analytical method depend on what your product is. A seafood Salmonella detention calls for very different testing than a spice facing an illegal-dye charge or a supplement flagged for GMP. These category guides explain the detention reasons and testing considerations specific to each product type — and link to the exact import alerts that most often apply. Whatever your product, we coordinate the sampling, chain of custody, and independent testing that fit it.

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Product & Industry Guides

Twelve category guides covering the imported products most often detained by FDA. Select yours to see the alerts, charges, and testing that apply.

Fish, shrimp, shellfish

Seafood

Salmonella, aquaculture drug residues, filth, histamine, and decomposition — the alerts that hit seafood hardest.

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Pepper, chili, blends

Spices & Seasonings

Salmonella, illegal dyes like Sudan colors, filth, and mycotoxins across imported spices and blends.

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Fruits, vegetables

Fresh Produce

Pesticide residues, Salmonella, and commodity-specific alerts on imported fruits and vegetables.

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Almonds, pistachios, raisins

Nuts & Dried Fruit

Aflatoxins and other mycotoxins, pesticides, and Salmonella across tree nuts and dried fruit.

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Rice, wheat, flour

Grains & Cereals

Mycotoxins, pesticide residues, and filth in imported grains, flour, rice, and cereal products.

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Capsules, powders, herbals

Dietary Supplements

GMP alerts, undeclared drug ingredients, and labeling violations on imported supplements.

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Makeup, creams, color

Cosmetics

Color additive violations, prohibited ingredients, and labeling issues on imported cosmetics.

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Canned, packaged, prepared

Processed & Packaged Foods

Pesticides, Salmonella, undeclared colors, and labeling across processed and packaged foods.

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Juices, drinks, bases

Beverages

Additives, contaminants, and labeling violations across imported drinks and beverage bases.

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Cheese, milk products

Dairy Products

Pathogens like Listeria, additives, and country-specific alerts on imported dairy.

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Sweets, chocolate, gum

Candy & Confectionery

Illegal colors, undeclared allergens, lead in certain candies, and labeling violations.

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Teas, botanicals, extracts

Herbal & Botanical Products

Contaminants, undeclared drugs, heavy metals, and GMP issues in botanicals and herbal goods.

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Don't see your exact product? These are broad categories — many products fall under more than one. Send us your notice and we'll identify the right testing regardless of category, or browse the full import alert directory.

Product Detained?

Tell Us What You Import — We'll Match the Testing

Send your Notice of FDA Action and product details. You'll get a case-specific read on the alerts and charges that apply to your category and what testing can do.

Urgent detention matters receive priority intake review.

FDA Detention Sampling is an independent private company. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or part of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These guides are general information about FDA import detention and testing for different product categories; the charge and instructions on your specific Notice of FDA Action, and the applicable import alert, control. Sampling, laboratory testing, documentation, and coordination services do not guarantee FDA release, admissibility, acceptance of laboratory results, removal from any import alert, or any specific regulatory outcome. FDA makes the final admissibility decision.