Foods you cannot ship from overseas. Bureau of Customs and Border Patrol List
Filed under: banned foods to ship, Safe Shipping Overseas, Tips on Food Safety
U.S. personnel overseas can help American farmers in a big way. Just don’t put fresh fruit, vegetables, red meats, sausage or plants into the mail or a personal property shipment. One piece of fruit or sausage can cause such a major outbreak of disease that the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection fines people who mail or take prohibited foods to the States at least $300. When you return from abroad, you will be given a Customs Declaration form on which to declare your agricultural products and will also be asked whether you have visited a farm or ranch outside the United States. Officers inspect passenger baggage for undeclared agricultural products. Failure to declare any items may result in delays and fines of up to $1,000.
“We’re having a big problem with canned meats being mailed at the moment,” said William Manning, USDA adviser to the European Command. He explained that the canned meats come mainly from Germany and threaten U.S. agriculture because they are often not cooked long enough to kill Foot and Mouth Disease germs. USDA therefore fines people who mail canned or dried meat, pâté, salamis or sausages to the States because the disease has been eradicated in the USA.
“European food is generally no different from U.S. produce but it can carry agricultural pests and diseases which we don’t have in the States,” Manning added. “These pests cost the American taxpayer $22 billion a year.” Examples of imported pests are the infamous Mediterranean fruit fly and citrus-canker which took 40 years and $13 million to eradicate when it hit the States. Some foods such as bread, cookies and cured cheeses are not banned from import. Candies, cakes, tea, dried or canned fruits, mushrooms and canned or processed vegetables are also good to go.
| Prohibited items | Click on the following options for more information on:
Fish and Wildlife |
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| Bringing Agricultural Products Into the United States | Customs and Border Protection tips on taking food, plants and animal products into the USA. | ||||||
| Know Before You Go | This PDF pamphlet from Customs and Border Protection also contains information on taking and sending Food, plants and agricultural products to the USA | ||||||
| Shipping plants home | All plants in soil are banned from the USA. Aquaculture is the answer. But make sure you have the necessary permits. This U.S. Department of Agriculture page also has details on bulbs, seeds etc. | ||||||
| Endangered | Information from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Threatened and Endangered Wildlife and Plants. | ||||||
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