chollie

Instant ramen packets have been confiscated because of the products contained in the seasoning packet. That seems crazy to me, but I'd hate to lose my GE, even temporarily, because I failed to declare.

Keep in mind, you're not trying to persuade posters on this forum. You have to decide for yourself if you are willing to face the possible consequences of failing to persuade a hard-line CBP agent.

Often1

As usual, these "food" threads split off into different wanderings because people go way off-topic. This is not a debate about whether one ought to be able to import noodles into the US, but whether one must declare the noodles on entry, in this case electronically as part of the GE process.

The answer is "yes". This does not mean that the "food" is prohibited and it does not mean that the "good" will be seized. But, it does mean that if you make a false statement, at a minimum, your GE may be revoked without any hearing and, as many find, it is close to impossible to get it reinstated.

The TTP means that I can be trusted to answer the questions truthfully. I have a vague understanding of the Ag rules, but the understanding is vague. Even if I brought myself up to speed today, I am not prepared to commit to reupping on a regular basis. I suspect that is where many regular travelers are.

I am fine being held to the truthfulness standard. As to the Ag rules, I'm probably with the vast, vast majority of GE holders who could not pass a separate GE test qualifying for some type of GE exemption.

TWA884

It was a moderation decision to split this discussion from the thread in the Trusted Travelers forum.

The Trusted Travelers forum is the place for asking for and providing practical information and advice, not for arguing about the rules or debating or commenting on the policy behind them.

This question by the OP strayed from practical advice into policy debate and thus the breakoff of the thread and the move to the Checkpoints and Borders Policy Debate forum:

Now that I have explained the reason for the relocation of this discussion, please let's move on.

Should you have any further comments on this moderation decision, please feel free to contact me by PM. Public discussion of moderation actions is against the FlyerTalk Rules.

Thank you for understanding,

TWA884
Travel Safety/Security co-moderator

Boraxo

Exactly. So 2 more people needlessly sent to x-ray @sfo to waste everyone's time because they have chocolates.

Came in through IAH last week, truthfully answered "no" and was on my way immediately. Of course there is no Clear and no pre-check after 7pm but that is another matter!

seawolf

Trusted travelers have been caught with more than chocolates despite declaration. Sending them to X-ray is an not necessarily a waste of time. Most of the time I declare food I've just been interviewed. I've been to X-ray maybe 1 in 10 food declarations.

Boraxo

I'm tired of debating this. It's a complete waste of my time. And CBP time. If it isn't a waste of your time then no need for you to worry about mine.

The fact that GE travelers are caught making false declarations has nothing to do with anything - if anything it is more likely that people who answer "no" are more likely to make the false declaration because they haven't noticed the change in wording (which is the subject of this thread) or don't want to waste time over a box of chocolates or similar.

GUWonder

I think my extensive history of "yes" food declarations may have helped me to learn to meet the condition to reduce my chance of ending up even at a quick Ag inspection. Perhaps I've just gotten conditioned to verbally answer in such a way that it comes across as re-assuring and not requiring being sent to secondary.

whitearrow

I would just like clarity on what "food" means. Many things are obvious, but some not so much. Is "food" anything you put in your mouth, and if it is, does that include dissolvable melatonin pills? Is it chewing gum? A sealed bottle of water? An open bottle of water? Is it the hard ginger candies I brought from home?

A little clarity would go a long way.

nk15

I would say pills and water not food, the other two are food (throw away or declare).
Gum is def food if you are Spicey.

MSPGabe

I frequently bring food (typically chocolate) back from my travels, and will always answer yes to the question.

I've been sent to secondary only once in 50ish US arrivals the past 5 years. I get asked what I'm bringing and will respond with chocolate (or chocolate covered mango from the Philippines!), and the guy will clarify if they're Kinder Eggs (typically on Europe arrivals) and then send me on my way.

The vast majority of these arrivals are in MSP and DTW.

seawolf

And if declaring chocolates means being consistently skipped over for further examination such as bags being sent thru x-ray, what do you think smugglers will do next time? The unpredictability is necessary.

chollie

Unpredictability in the form of random inspections is one thing.

Playing 'gotcha' games is a waste of CBP agent time and taxpayers' money. Their time can and should be spent more productively.

It is a particularly stupid waste of time to try to play games and set pax up by passing out bad information. When a pax declares candy (according to the rules) and the agent barks 'why are you wasting my time?', the agent is encouraging the pax to skip the declaration the next time, knowing perfectly well that if the pax does so and gets random'd the pax will lose his/her GE and likely pay a stiff fine.

Any CBP agent who pulls the 'why are you wasting my time?' should be disciplined and retrained on the organization rules that the pax are expected to know.

Badenoch

I've declared food or something else that might be questionable about a dozen times. No problems and I've never been sent to secondary after I explained what it was.

I'd rather put up with the agent who asks "why are you wasting my time" than deal with one that might pull my Nexus because he found a food item I didn't declare.

exerda

This. Although getting grief for "wasting their time" with a declaration is annoying, it's far less annoying than losing NEXUS or GE because the CBP folks decide to flag you for that bar of chocolate or that apple.

Repooc17

Coming back this morning at BOS (LHR-BOS). After Global Entry travelers had their photo taken at the machine, we all had to see an officer. The most common question was if you brought back any food into the US? The lady in front of me told the officer she bought a sandwich to eat for lunch because it's expensive in the US. She was doing the right thing, but I wanted to tell her to STFU...no reason to disclose this kind of info. She had to wait for someone to check the food with her passport held.

Just keep saying no, like I did. Food, no. Cash, none.