Beware of honey through New-Zealand!

[NMTraveller]

11 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

they also have the cutest sniffing dogs!

 

I would likely give the lady the honey and then run off with the dog 🤣

[lynncarol]

OMG....he looks just like the dog that sniffed my woven bag and that was years ago.  Maybe "Son of original sniffer"? 

[ScottC4746]

On 2/19/2024 at 9:10 PM, cachouonacruise said:

On a recent trip, we flew to Sydney Australia. During one of our excursions, we found, what we thought would be something nice to bring home: creamy honey made by a unique kind of bees in Australia. We bought two jars! 

 

We then boarded the Edge in Sydney, no questions asked!

 

However, during our cruise around New-Zealand, we saw multiple adds warning us about consequences for bringing agricultural substances considered a bio-hazard by New-Zealand. 

 

So, we begun to be quite concerned! Especially since sniffing dogs are used to smell luggage in both Australia and New-Zealand. The penalty for contravening to these rules is a $400 fine and the cancellation of the visa.

 

We elected not to risk the penalty and to declare the honey, on the electronic form filled while aboard the ship.

 

So, after the cruise, upon disembarking from the Edge, customs, immigrations and dogs were waiting to greet disembarking passengers.

 

The officers of course, asked us about the honey. We mentioned that the honey was in two jars, unopened and sealed and that we were just hoping to carry them from the port to the airport leaving New-Zealand, the same day.

 

The officers thanked us for our honesty....and then confiscated the honey. We were not subjected to the fine though.

 

So, just posting this experience, in case it could help fellow cruiser not to become....honey criminals like us! ( just joking by exaggeration a bit, but this added stress and an unnecessary expense to our trip)

 

For your consideration! 
 

As someone with family in NZ I can attest that NZ is VERY strict on agriculture products coming in as they are very protective of their delicate agriculture.  We are very spoiled here in the USA in that we can get fresh produce year round in and out of season, of course out of season is a little more.  We were there and bought zucchini or courgette as we saw them marked in the store and it was nearly NZ$7.00/kg out of season.  Even honey they are very strict coming in.  

[vivace91]

@cachouonacruise

 

We were on that same cruise! I so wanted to buy honey to bring home as well! It was sold in every touristy place we went to but I kept reading NZ's strict policy and also knew that Canada's rules say not to bring back any honey 🥲 I wondered why they sold it at every single place knowing that tourists aren't allowed to bring it through customs?? We tried samples at a few places and I did buy a 5 pack of Manuka honey face masks that were all sealed individually and in a box...I made it home with those and some wine, good chocolate, the infamous TimTams and some hot sauce but, sadly, had to pass on the honey.

Hope you had a nice holiday!

[Mr. Click]

NZ is really strict and the dogs really do the job.  A few years ago getting off the ship at our first NZ port stop I was stopped.  "The dog is really interested in your camera bag, do you have any food stuff in it?".  Nope, but 5 days before in Sydney I did have an apple in my bag from the hotel......We had a good laugh.

[worldtraveller]

Can you bring candy (chocolate) or wrapped granola bars into NZ?

[StopTheWorld]

31 minutes ago, worldtraveller said:

Can you bring candy (chocolate) or wrapped granola bars into NZ?

Check New Zealand government website for accurate and up to date info. 

[Markanddonna]

I recall having to go through a special inspection in NZ because of a factory sealed can of academia nuts from Hawaii.

[redhead9]

2 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

I recall having to go through a special inspection in NZ because of a factory sealed can of academia nuts from Hawaii.

I’ve known a lot of nuts in ‘academia’, too. 
🤣

[PurpleTraveller]

16 hours ago, worldtraveller said:

Can you bring candy (chocolate) or wrapped granola bars into NZ?

 

On my NZ cruise in December we were instructed that no food could be taken off the ship other than chocolate, confectionery or biscuits and no liquids other than commercially bottled drinking water.

 

[worldtraveller]

Thanks

[hcat]

On 2/23/2024 at 2:24 PM, vivace91 said:

@cachouonacruise

 

We were on that same cruise! I so wanted to buy honey to bring home as well! It was sold in every touristy place we went to but I kept reading NZ's strict policy and also knew that Canada's rules say not to bring back any honey 🥲 I wondered why they sold it at every single place knowing that tourists aren't allowed to bring it through customs?? We tried samples at a few places and I did buy a 5 pack of Manuka honey face masks that were all sealed individually and in a box...I made it home with those and some wine, good chocolate, the infamous TimTams and some hot sauce but, sadly, had to pass on the honey.

Hope you had a nice holiday!

you can buy those honey masks in the US..

 

We saw a woman pulled off the line in Pt Ev..she was bringing an apple  along for a snack.  Not sure of the outcome but it slowed her departure .

 

we respect the rules and the working dogs..do not pet them.. they are on the job!

[terrydtx]

On 2/20/2024 at 5:42 AM, hcat said:

is there an actual hazard with the product..or it just violates the rules?

Maybe you can get it online,

We just returned from Aus/NZ last week after 6 weeks and 2 B2B cruises. NZ is very protective of  their environment and agriculture, and they have a lot of media that reiterates this. We flew home from Melbourne to Houston through Aukland on Air New Zealand. After the safety video for flying they run a video on what is prohibited to bring into NZ even if you are passing through on a connecting flight. You have to fill in declaration cards before you land and go through NZ customs in Aukland. We had to do the same when we had our first port stop in Dunedin NZ on the Edge.  Honey is one of the most prohibited of any food item as the bee industry in NZ is very delicate and NZ officials want to protect it from diseases and parasites that could be in foreign honey, We visited a Kiwi Fruit orchard and this is a 4 billion dollar a year export industry that is 100% dependent on bee pollination which could be wiped out if the local bee population were to be destroyed.

[Turtles06]

On 2/20/2024 at 4:27 PM, mahasamatman said:

 

And this includes things you wouldn't expect. For example, you cannot bring your personal CPAP machine into Japan without authorization. The auth is easy to get, but it's somehting very few people would even think about. I never even knew about it until someone posted in our Roll Call.

Wow, thanks for that interesting factoid. While I always check the rules of countries I’m visiting re bringing in meds, it would never have occurred to me to look for a rule about CPAP machines. I wonder what their concern is. 

[FeebeeH]

Sadly some apiarists in Australia have had Varroa mites in their hives.  This has led the Australian government to destroy those hives infected with the mite and to close down other apiarists in those areas to try and stop the spread.  The honey industry is a big money earner (especially Manuka) in both Australia & New Zealand.  New Zealand may have been concerned about any honey coming from Australia which may be contaminated??  On my recent trip to NZ I was able to bring NZ Manuka Honey into Australia (after declaring it) with no fines or problems.