Originally Posted by
xyzzy
I want to bring some home-made strawberry jam for friends in Oz. It's been cooked and canned properly (as evidenced by the vacuum seal on the jars). While I know I need to declare it, will it be confiscated or will I be allowed to bring it in? I've never had problems bringing it into other countries but I figured it was worth checking.
I'm sorry to tell you that home-made jam is a big no. It will most likely be confiscated at the border. They don't allow jam that hasn't been commercially produced, because it's difficult to verify the quality. We've specifically asked about this (my mother makes the best jam imho) and customs told us we couldn't. The customs and quarantine TV show has people trying to bring various well sealed home-made stuff all the time and they get upset when they can't.
Having said that, you can email specific questions like this to the Australian customs and quarantine and they will provide a written answer to you.
http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page5834.asp
number_6: I've brought home made jam to California many times from overseas. I find US customs very reasonable.