https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/det...s-into-the-u.s.

It's an agricultural by-product and strictly speaking not allowed without proper inspection/certification en route, like what happens when it's imported by companies into the US with permits. Cured or not, USDA didn't bless it, Customs fined it at entry. Animal by-products are controlled at the border.

My understanding from working with Customs in my enlisted military pass is this became a bigger concern and crackdown after hoof-and-mouth disease showed up in the early 2000s, mostly on European imports.

It could've been confiscated.

I love Google...