The issues with farms predates mad cow and is intended to prevent transmission of all manner of diseases. Hoof and mouth is particularly feared. Then there is the issue of invasive species. You are crossing an ocean and all that. These questions may be a PITA, but they aren't as ridiculous as some make them out to be.

FWIW, similar concerns mean that you have to go through agricultural screening when flying from mainland US to Hawaii.

I declared when I returned from Amsterdam (I had bulbs), and the entire process took an extra 5 minutes. It really wasn't a hassle.

For Reference ...
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Declaration Form 6059B - Instructions
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/va...ation_form.xml

When I was a kid, Bull's Eyes were a popular candy and can still be obtained from 'retro' sweet shops/candy stores on both sides of the Atlantic. For my next US entry, I'd like to see the reaction if I declare 1/4 lb of Bull's Eyes. :D

I, perhaps stupidly, didn't think of perusing the questionnaire. When last in SYD we got some of the lovely Assie lamb cutlets and a roast, in the Duty Free ~ just for personal consumption. All were thickly & hermitically sealed and had all kinds of offical stamps stating that were up to snuff with the agriculture authorites. I guess I just assumed that it was perfectly legal.

Unfortunately I also had some fruit (I think it was 2-3 passion fruit) that I carelessly had tossed into my handlugge, while preparing to land. We just strolled through at SFO (a transit stop on our way to NAS) but were stopped for a search. The officer was not happy, he took the fruit but let us take the meat ~ he really gave us a an earful.

But I do think there has been progress made in the US. I was an FA in the mid 70's, flying exclusively non-stop between the Caribbean and Europe. Occasionaly we had to divert to MIA en route, for an hour or so for some paper work usually and nobody was allowed off, save the Captain. All the crew scrambled to hide our food stuffs (cheese, salamis, parma hams belgian choclates etc.) inside the catering containers which had "quarintine tape", crossed over the them. Agriculture teams plus immigration would board the plane, then the former, would rip off the tapes in all galleys and confiscate everything. Including Crew meals. It was a real drag since none of it would be entering the US. Without a doubt our goodies were divvied up up between
them and taken home :(

In the end I did not declare the loaf based on the small print on the back of the declaration form. It touches on the purpose, obviously the prevention of pests etc where said loaf could not really pose a threat. That would have been my response if asked, but definitely not in a smarta$$, amateur, lawyer manner :cool:. We were asked at customs whether we were carrying any fruit, meat etc, said, "No," and sailed through.

There were no dogs around so it was always going to be OK, anyway. The reason for asking the question in the first place was that a loaf of the proverbial had previously been sniffed out, at JFK, after loading our bags off the belt: on that occasion we were just waved on our way without even having to open the case.

I'm British, and have lived in the US for the last 7 years. I travel fairly regularly to the UK on short business trips, and 2 or maybe 3 times a year do a bumper food haul back to the US, where 1 of my 2 checked bags is literally full of food items and my other bag also has food items wrapped up in the clothes etc.

The food I bring in usually includes some or most of the following (just because I miss certain British brands now and again):

Chocolate, tea, tinned puddings (e.g. spotted dick, sticky toffee etc.), powdered custard, noodles (e.g. chicken & mushroom flavoured Pot Noodles!), crisps, mustard, spices, tomato puree, garlic puree, chinese and indian cooking sauces, gravy granules and more that I've probably forgotten about now.

Every time I declare I have food. Every time the immigration official asks what I have. I start to rattle off the list, he gets bored and changes my check mark on the form from 'yes' to 'no'. I have never, ever, had a problem after doing this 20+ times.

My logic is that I do not want to lie. If I say 'no' and I get subjected to a random search and they find something, then they're going to wonder what else I lied about. This could have hassle written all over it. To tick 'yes' each time has simply added 10 seconds worth of conversation to the proceedings and nothing more. As long as you're not being daft and bringing meat, fruit, veg etc. (that's obviously going to cause more of an issue) then no need to lie on the form.

That's a fascinating shopping list!

I can understand chocolate and tea, and having seen the prices charged for 'erbs and spices understand why they're included. But the other items remind me I'm glad I like American food [and continue to export to UK large quantities of BBQ rubs] ;)

Yes any fresh fruit or veg which contains seeds seems to be what they're on the look out for. Our lettuce was okay to enter yet our tomatoes and lemon were apprehended.

Sadly any attempts at lettuce import on my part would almost certainly end in disaster as the poor thing would be crushed to a pulp by the tins of Branston baked beans....

...and now over to Dining Buzz.

Swanhunter
Moderator, BAEC

Same here. I endeavor to follow the rules, even the ones I don't agree with.
Otherwise we have anarchy.

For instance, I'm responding to this post in DiningBuzz even though it belongs in TravelBuzz http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...ile_tongue.gif

Happened to my daughter
 

This is what happened to my daughter. She forgot to declare it on a flight from LHR to SEA because she was connecting directly to a flight to YVR. She never made that flight because customs "caught" her. They wound up letting her bring it in (it was all cheese) but fining her $500 and putting her on their "watched" list. Not worth the cheese.

Just thirsty. No rules against wine as long as you declare it. If you bring cases of it in at once, you may be charged duty. I've brought bottles of wine from three continents to the US, declared them, and never had a issue.

As for the OP's question, I'd declare the bread and see if you can bring it in. If it has a lot of seeds, customs might have an issue with it.

Food that has been cooked or processed is okay. Any pests or plant material will have been killed, so a loaf of bread or bag of cookies is okay. Food like apples, viable seeds, bananas etc.. is big no no. Of course, this is to the discretion of the customs inspector so they may not realize that a loaf of bread has been cooked and the may not permit it., or they may just be a hard .......:p

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Cooking the halva kills the seeds. I dont even think seeds used in cooking are viable, although some inspector may say it is not allowed. They have alot of discretion.

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I assume she got 'caught' when her bags were sent thru the agriculture x-ray machine.

I general, if a passenger declares no food and happens to get sent to 'green light' and food shows up on the screen, the customs agent will ask the passenger if they have any food. If the passenger suddenly 'remembers' and says 'yes', they will not get fined. This is considered like a verbal amendment to the customs form. If they still do not remember the food, they probably will get fined.