Originally Posted by
karenkay
fwiw, i'm constantly buying candy, gum and cookies in other countries as a souvenir. i have global entry, and was checking 'yes' to food and getting the X every time, until one agent said to me 'cookies and chocolates aren't food, you don't have to check yes.'
ymmv, but that is what the guy told me. i'm very careful not to purchase anything that might be suspect--fruits, meats, cheeses, etc.--but i figure the agent told me i don't have to check 'yes' for my candy bar, so i don't.
The only problem with that is that individual officers can exercise a lot of discretion, i.e. power. I hope you have that guy's name and official I.D. number when another one asks "Who told you that?"
We're in Australia at the moment and were waved through this time as others have described. We had written "coffee" and "cookies" on our form.
We do the same when re-entering the U.S. We check "Yes" for food and write in tiny print, coffee, chocolate bars, cookies, or whatever in the space. Never a problem.
In the good old days when one could still carry wine in carry-ons the officer said, "Wine's not a food," and I answered "It's a great food." He actually smiled and that was that.
Apropos of this, somebody should post that video of the woman getting fined on entry to New Zealand for not declaring an apple handed out on the Australia-New Zealand flight by Qantas IIRC.
