Travelers, expect to get grilled over food Posted on April 30th
And during the summer, when travel peaks and Americans stampede to Europe, you can expect Customs officers to be even more vigilant than usual.
The authorities aren’t just dinner party poopers. And they’re not actually worried about whether you get sick.
They’re concerned with protecting the U.S. food supply. Contaminated meat can put U.S. livestock at risk of mad cow disease, foot and mouth disease, swine fever, avian flu and other illnesses that can enter the food supply through garbage feeding and other means. Plants may harbor pests that could decimate whole crops.
The rules for what you can, and can’t, stuff into your suitcase are so complicated even conscientious travelers like Mitchell—who declared the ham and was initially waved though—might have trouble.
Created by the Department of Agriculture and enforced by Customs and Border Protection, the rules allow some things that seem dicey and flag others you might not even think about.
The result is a bit of a regulatory roller coaster.
Fungus routed from the ground by pigs in France? Load up. Basil plant from your grandmother’s garden in Italy? Pack it up (just shake off the soil)! Kangaroo jerky from Australia? Bon appetit.
But don’t even think about canned corned beef from Dublin or smoky Spanish chorizo. And foie gras, even cooked and canned? At your peril.
In general, baked goods, candy and chocolate are all fine to bring into the U.S. Condiments—oil, vinegar, mustard, pickles, syrups, honey, jelly—also fine.
Cheese is trickier, with hard varieties such as Parmesan and cheddar allowed, but soft, fresh or runny varieties, such as brie, burrata and ricotta, big no-nos.
Fruits and vegetables generally are prohibited or require special certificates, unless you can prove they were grown in and came directly from Canada. Except potatoes. No Canadian potatoes, which have suffered disease outbreaks.
Fresh meat generally is forbidden. No steaks, no chops, no sausage. Unless it comes from New Zealand. Or is a wild bison. From Canada. That you killed yourself. (Keep your hunting permit with your passport.)
Cured meats—that’s your Serrano, Parma and Iberico hams, plus Hungarian salami and other delicacies—are almost always forbidden. Unless they come from particular preapproved production facilities.
So how does a traveler navigate all this?
“As a rule of thumb it’s best not to bring it in or to at least declare it at the port of entry,” says USDA spokeswoman Melissa O’Dell. Fines start around $300 and can climb to $10,000.
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