How do firms get off Import Alert 23-15?

A firm asks FDA to remove it by submitting evidence that the cause of the listing has been corrected. The Guidance section of the alert on FDA's website gives the procedure and the contact for 23-15; our guide explains the steps and the evidence FDA usually asks for.

What charge does FDA use under Import Alert 23-15?

The charge section of Import Alert 23-15 names UNSAFE ADD (food additive unsafe under section 409), POISONORD (poisonous or deleterious substance (ordinarily injurious)) and UNSFDIETUS (appears to be a dietary supplement or contain a dietary ingredient that renders it adulterated under section…). Each code is a refusal charge in FDA's reference table; the linked pages give FDA's official statement and refusal counts.

Import Alert 23-15: Detention without physical examination of food products including finished dietary supplements and bulk dietary ingredients, that are, or that contain, Areca (betel) nuts, and foodware made from Areca catechu palm leaves

FDA last published March 23, 2026FDA alert page

As of October 26, 2026, FDA Import Alert 23-15 (Foods and supplements containing areca (betel) nuts) has no foreign food firms listed in SupplierRadar's records; it covers foodware products that are, or that contain leaves of the A. catechu palm tree.

Data from FDA public records, last checked October 26, 2026. Request a correction

0
foreign food firms listed: 0
added in the last 90 days: 0
removed in the last 90 days

What changed in the last 90 days

Additions use the date FDA published each listing. Removals are dated by the day SupplierRadar first saw the firm gone; the weekly and daily checks are described on the data sources page.

Removed from Import Alert 23-15

SupplierRadar has recorded no removals from Import Alert 23-15 in the last 90 days, as of October 26, 2026. A removal is shown at the top of this page, and on the firm's own page, the day it is found.

Added to Import Alert 23-15

No firm was added to Import Alert 23-15 in the last 90 days, as of October 26, 2026.

Refusal charges named on this alert

FDA's alert page names these charge codes. The counts are refusal lines FDA recorded under each charge since October 2016, for all firms, not only firms on this alert.

Charge codes named on Import Alert 23-15
Charge code	Meaning	Refusal lines since 2016
UNSAFE ADD	Food additive unsafe under section 409	2,275
POISONORD	Poisonous or deleterious substance (ordinarily injurious)	436
UNSFDIETUS	Appears to be a dietary supplement or contain a dietary ingredient that renders it adulterated under section…	42

What the alert covers and why FDA issued it

FDA's wording, with FDA's change markers removed.

Official title: Detention Without Physical Examination of Food Products Including Finished Dietary Supplements and Bulk Dietary Ingredients, That Are, or That Contain, Areca (Betel) Nuts, and Foodware Made From Areca catechu Palm Leaves
Product scope: Foodware products that are, or that contain leaves of the A. Catechu palm tree Food products that are, or that contain, areca (betel) nuts (including powders, extracts, and other forms), including finished dietary supplements and bulk dietary ingredients. Products subject to this Alert may be described by a different or unfamiliar name. As needed, Divisions should examine and review labels or request information from the importer to verify if the product falls within the scope of this import alert. -Areca (betel) nuts and products made from them are also known by various other names, including but not limited to, arec, fructus areca, semen arecae, Areca catechu, supari, pan, paan, pan or paan masala, chaalia, betel quid, etc. -Foodware made from the leaves of the A. catechu palm tree such as: palm leaf plates or palm leaf dinnerware.
Last published: March 23, 2026

The Areca nut is the fruit seed of the tree and is commonly referred to as betel nut, because it is often wrapped in betel leaves for chewing. Areca nuts and food products containing areca nuts are also imported to the US, often to be sold in Asian markets as food. The areca palm tree (Areca catechu or A. catechu) grows primarily in South Asia and the Western Pacific Islands. The leaves of the areca palm tree are used to make foodware, including bowls, plates, cups, and cutlery. Foodware made from the leaves of the A. catechu palm is manufactured outside the US but is imported and sold online and in stores in the US by major retailers.
Naturally occurring toxic alkaloids are present in various parts of the areca palm tree, including the leaves and nuts. Chewing areca nut results in exposure to alkaloids including arecoline, which is reported to have cytotoxic, genotoxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic effects. Additionally, results from FDA migration and extractive studies on foodware made from A. catechu palm leaves has shown that these alkaloids migrate from the product to food under intended use conditions at levels that can result in consumer dietary exposure that raises safety concerns.

FDA Import Alert 23-15, Reason for AlertRead it on FDA

Read the rest of the reason

In its 2004 and 2012 evaluations on the carcinogenic risks to humans from areca (betel) nuts, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) stated that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that areca nut chewed with or without tobacco causes oral cancer in humans. It also stated that there is sufficient evidence in experimental animals for the carcinogenicity of areca nut with or without tobacco (IARC, 2004; 2012). Further, review of the literature indicates that regular consumption of areca nut and areca nut products is associated with a range of persistent adverse systemic health effects.

However, the use of the sheath of A. catechu palm leaves in food contact articles does not meet the statutory criteria for general recognition of safety and are therefore not generally recognized as safe (GRAS). This evaluation is based on scientific data and information demonstrating a potential safety concern for dietary exposure to known alkaloid constituents of the A. catechu palm leaf as a result of its use in food contact articles. As the use of A. catechu palm leaf material in foodware is not GRAS and no authorization exists for its use in contact with food, such use is an unsafe food additive as defined under Section 409 of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act - 21 U.S.C. 348(a)).

Listing on an import alert is FDA's notice to the firm and a fact an importer must consider in its supplier evaluation under 21 CFR 1.505. What the red, green and yellow lists mean.

Questions about Import Alert 23-15

What is Import Alert 23-15?: Import Alert 23-15, “Detention without physical examination of food products including finished dietary supplements and bulk dietary ingredients, that are, or that contain, Areca (betel) nuts, and foodware made from Areca catechu palm leaves”, is an FDA import alert; FDA last published the alert on March 23, 2026.
How do firms get off Import Alert 23-15?: A firm asks FDA to remove it by submitting evidence that the cause of the listing has been corrected. The Guidance section of the alert on FDA's website gives the procedure and the contact for 23-15; our guide explains the steps and the evidence FDA usually asks for.
What charge does FDA use under Import Alert 23-15?: The charge section of Import Alert 23-15 names UNSAFE ADD (food additive unsafe under section 409), POISONORD (poisonous or deleterious substance (ordinarily injurious)) and UNSFDIETUS (appears to be a dietary supplement or contain a dietary ingredient that renders it adulterated under section…). Each code is a refusal charge in FDA's reference table; the linked pages give FDA's official statement and refusal counts.

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SupplierRadar is not affiliated with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Data comes from public FDA records and may contain errors. This is not legal advice; importers remain responsible for their supplier evaluations.