Originally Posted by
chollie
Slightly OT, but I wonder how other countries handle this. For starters, I've never had to fill out a declaration form when I entered another country, and I've never encountered anything but red/green customs exits at foreign airports.
Australia has “any food- including.....”
there are then also listed stuff which food may fall under the definition of , for example “plant material”, “animal products”. Etc. I tick anything that’s relevant (including sometimes all 3). And then tell the officer what I have. They usually seem pretty happy to have someone with a clue rather than having to drag out the information from someone that’s insisting for example that sweets aren’t food cos they’re “just a snack”, as I have witnessed many times
NZ’s form is virtually identical in terms of questions asked. They also X-ray all bags to avoid issues. Again, I have never found any issues with overdeclaring food, they have always been very pleasant and happy to have a chat and a laugh for 5 minutes
one of the officers in australia told me that they tell people food is anything you “put in your mouth” but that seems like a can of worms being opened!!