Taking food into US
 

Does anyone know where I can find the rules / regulations regarding taking (cooked but frozen) food from Canada to US? I'm not talking about transporting several thousand kilos of steaks or anything; just enough for personal consumption for say, a week at a time.

Basically the choice is eat at restaurants all week, bring food from home (preferable) or use the iron to cook.

We're talking the US DHS here.

Dont' expect any clarity; expect full officer discretion; presume that you will be breaking the rules if you dare bring in a morsel of any type of food substance; presume that this could be used as the basis to note your record with improperly answering the question of a DHS officer, and that it could lead to future travel bans, etc.

What are you trying to bring in? And at what entry point into the USA?

Cooked and raw meat and chicken is now allowed with rood of Canadian origin.

What I usually do if I'm bring a large quaint of meat is call the specific border station and confirm a few days before that the regulations have not changed.

https://help.cbp.gov/cgi-bin/customs...php?p_faqid=82

"Fruits and vegetables grown in Canada are generally admissible, if they have labels identifying them as products of Canada. Fruits and vegetables merely purchased in Canada are not necessarily admissible, ie. citrus or tropical fruits such as mangos, which clearly were not grown in Canada because it does not have a climate that supports those crops. (Potatoes from western regions of Canada are currently restricted because of a disease outbreak. While commercial imports are permitted under stringent guidelines, travelers from Canada should avoid bringing raw potatoes with them into the US).

The Department of Agriculture has recently relaxed rules for travelers arriving from Canada with food products involving some meat products. Beef and game products are now allowed entry. This includes frozen, cooked, canned or otherwise processed beef, veal, venison, elk, bison, etc. Hunter harvested game, including deer, moose, wild sheep, goats and bison is admissible from Canada for the traveler's personal use if accompanied with a hunting license, tag or equivalent. permit. Meat products from domestic lamb, sheep and goats is still prohibited entry from Canada. "

In a similar vein, has anyone brought brought back live seafood (i.e. lobster) from visiting a coastal city either in the U.S. or Canada? Does it have to be checked or will they allow carry-on?

We recently completed a camping (with a large travel trailer) trip through Northern BC, Yukon and Alaska. It involved entering the US twice, Poker Creek and Dalton Cache.
The CPB member at Poker Creek asked no questions about food, Dalton Cache did, specifically citrus. He took the oranges.
Given we were towing a trailer, had three kids with us, we had a lot of food. Citrus was the only concern.

Some the of the friendliest CPB members I have met. The Dalton Cache member became a tour guide adviser, gave us maps, told us where to find grizzlies feeding on salmon, campgrounds etc.

Just some pre-cooked but subsequently frozen food. Nothing exotic; just normal stuff you eat at home. Entry point will probably be Detroit (air) or Windsor / Detroit (car).

I've seen people walk on board AC transborders with Pizza Pizza, but obviously they eat that on the plane so they're only sort of importing food. I'm just wondering what the rules / procedures are for bringing in what basically amounts to a week's worth of frozen leftovers.

Thanks for the comments thus far! ^

I second the lobster question. Are those travel packs of live lobsters admissible?

I'd say that at the point of entry, the items in questions are pets and not food.

:D

You'd have to declare for for sure. If you can keep the cooked food vegetarian, it'll make your life easier. Otherwise, find out if beef importation is (still) currently banned or not. Even if not, the trouble is the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture may question whether it's Canadian origin or not (if they care about that). Best is to use a meat that's easily identifiable and distinguishable from something prohibited such as chicken/poultry.

A friend recently brought back Schwartz's Smoked meat back from Montreal. It was cooked and sealed in a thick plastic bag. YMMV