Originally Posted by
jiejie
Lots of ink in this thread given to the Customs angle, yet I've waited in vain for somebody to bring up the obvious: Why would you want to eat this cr@p in the first place? I'm not talking about the taste, I'm talking safety. Consumer product safety on a personal level. Anyone who's ever had the (mis)fortune of visiting a Chinese food processing plant--be it freezing, canning, vacuum, etc--is pretty much cured for life of ever eating Chinese processed food, at least not voluntarily. Just too much lackadaisical operation to be able to trust that the product hasn't been contaminated somewhere in the plant. Vacuum-packing stray matter or bacteria along with your duck is not an appetizing thought. To go into major gyrations and angst to outwit US Customs for this sort of questionable product....IMO just isn't worth it. The only way I'd touch this stuff, even in China, is if stuck out in the wilderness and desperate.
Jiejie, may I respectfully point out that you eat from street vendors in China? From a sanitation point of view, it is very arguable which one would have more health and sanitation issues....
If you declare it upon entering the appropriate Quarantine officer will decide if it is safe, not safe or questionable. If either of the last two, it gets tossed. If the OP is fine with the potential tossing, it's up to him. But do declare it.
