Food off ship

[Taxguy77]

And yet there are always people out there who believe that this does not apply to them :confused:

 

In one port, they had every woman open her handbag going through the entrance to the port. You'd be surprised how many bananas they confiscated, even after repeated warnings aboard ship!:confused:

Some people do not understand that one piece of fruit infested with some organisms can cause millions of $$ of damage. Ask citrus growers in Florida and California! :eek:

[greatam]

When we flew from Rome Italy last year to NOLA, our first flight was into Philly PA. We had to clear customs, pick up our luggage, drop it off again and then go through a boarding line with our carry-on luggage to board the final flight to NOLA.

The poor lady in line ahead of me had bought several jars of Italian olives, garlic, etc in Italy and, bless her heart, put them in her carry-on bag to avoid breakage. Well, of course they took them away from her. I felt so sorry for her...I know she had probably spent a good bit of money on those items and they cleared boarding in Rome in her carry-on. Even though the site you referenced says she could do this, she should have put them in her checked luggage.

 

If TSA took them away, it was because they were over the 3 oz limit imposed for carry- ons.

 

If Customs took them away, they probably were not properly labeled. A lot of "home packed" food sold in markets (like home packed olives/garlic/olive oil sold all over Italy) do not meet the labeling requirements for getting food into the USA. What the Customs website does not mention-it must be COMMERCIALLY labeled-not Mom and Pop with 10 olive trees in their backyard and packed in their kitchen. And I have to laugh at the "grocery receipt" posted on their website. A receipt from a street vendor for home packed food WILL NOT do it. Our great government at work.

[kitty9]

PLEASE do NOT try to bring a lot of those items into the USA, particularly fish. I am in the international food shipping business. The rules are MUCH more complicated that what is posted on the Customs website. For the average person, Kitty9's advice should be heeded.

 

I am in the business, KNOW the rules and my gouda and edam cheese from the Netherlands was still taken away from me at JFK. I HAD the USDA cert, I HAD the Netherlands' agriculture cert (neither of which the average person would even know was needed) and Customs still would not let my 10 pounds of cheese into the USA. Some BS about cow diseases-pick one, they were trying to use them all.

 

For everyone's safety, take prepackaged granola bars, cheese and crackers or other similar foods. You are not going to starve.

 

Thank you greatam. I've had experience bringing back some of the items that underwatr listed, and had them taken away. Sorry, but you cannot trust what an individual Customs official will do. Just as some TSA agents have overstepped their authority by questioning passengers on their prescription meds, Custom's agents sometimes do go beyond their scope of authority. Heck, I even had some tulip bulbs from Amsterdam taken, despite the fact that they had this tag on them that said they could be taken into the US. I've also heard of some people who were trying to bring oregano back from Greece and had that taken away. Don't tempt fate, and don't bring in any food items from a foreign country.

[PennyAgain]

Darcie, you are so correct. I've learned to travel with as little as possible that may spark the interest of customs officers of any country I visit. In my own experience, once they start with one thing, they are very likely to go on to another and then another.

 

No reason to give the sniffer dogs a reason to alert.

[mn311601]

For those of you who may be wondering why almost all countries have laws against bringing fruit into their countries, this is the reason why.

 

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/major-mediterranean-fruit-fly-outbreak-found-in-boca-748723.html

[sail7seas]

If you are ashore and get hungry, find a nice place to have a bite to eat. There are few places you can't find a market, restaurant, cafe, etc. You don't need to bring food off the ship. If you are on a full day ship's sponsored excursion, most of the time they will provide something to hold you over.

 

It's interesting to learn a bit about another's culture by enjoying local food. Choose carefully and well and enjoy.

[beachchick]

Thank you greatam. I've had experience bringing back some of the items that underwatr listed, and had them taken away. Sorry, but you cannot trust what an individual Customs official will do. Just as some TSA agents have overstepped their authority by questioning passengers on their prescription meds, Custom's agents sometimes do go beyond their scope of authority. Heck, I even had some tulip bulbs from Amsterdam taken, despite the fact that they had this tag on them that said they could be taken into the US. I've also heard of some people who were trying to bring oregano back from Greece and had that taken away. Don't tempt fate, and don't bring in any food items from a foreign country.

 

I wonder though if it does make a difference where Customs agents are located? If you go through Customs at a California port, you can bet the Customs agents there are instructed to go by California laws, which are very restrictive. Sure, some agents will not check to make sure that you actually aren't carrying forbidden items, but if they do, they are just doing their jobs. Of course I have no idea if the Customs agent who took your tulip bulbs was going overboard or if the state where you disembarked had/has a specific restriction on bulbs or tulip bulbs specifically or plant materials in general.

 

That statement isn't accurate.

 

According to US Customs you can bringhttps://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/82/~/travelers-bringing-food-into-the-u.s.-for-personal-use

 

That's well and good, but individual states are most certainly allowed to have their own restrictions, and they do. It matters not one whit that the Customs website says it's okay to bring fresh fruit or vegetables from another country. In fact, there are laws in various states that forbid bringing certain (or any) fruits, vegetables, or plants into the state from another state.

 

beachchick