I try to not bring any food stuff - too contentious. Given that there appears to be so many interpretations by different "officers" - it just doesn't seem worth it. Even saw a FA get an apple removed from her bag in the flight crew express line - had left it there purely by accident - but it got the "finger wagging" response anyway. I make a (virtual) list of all the things missed since last trip to UK - diligently work through it while on UK soil. Then hammer the Cadbury's on the plane if available.

I always wonder about when one of the questions on the form is whether you have been anywhere rural (farms, etc) - like most of Britain! and it is summer so there are always summer fetes and garden shows...all because of mad cow's disease (still used as a reason you cannot give blood in US)!

Love it or hate it - part of the US "over-excited" make-up. Just a big contrast to the English no big deal "it's only a flesh wound" Black Knight psyche

Anyway - can get a lot of imported stuff on-line now - just have to save up or take out a mortgage, especially painful when the UK price is part of the wrapper (like it used to be on the CurlyWurly) so you can see the "modified exchange rate"

Just because the camp stove was currently empty if it had ever been used then fumes could remain and cause a problem in the cargo hold. The refusal to allow it on the flight would've had absolutely nothing to do with customs.

Part of the confusion also lies between what the "welcome to the US" video shows while you are waiting for immigration (at least in Boston) and the custom form.

The video seems to imply that only fresh products such as vegetables and meat are forbidden whereas the custom form asks you to declare any food.

For my last entry, I did not declare any food but had 24 cans of tuna in olive oil and was controlled. The officer told me I should have been honest on the form but let me keep the cans...

Just brought some Scottish Shortbread in ( a type of cookie) and we declared it and there was no problem.

It seems common for the dog to alert if you had forbidden food in your bag previously. This is not a big deal. The dog apparently responds to the remaining smell from the food.

Of course you can bring a limited amount of wine into the USA if you are over age 21 and are entering a state that permits this.

There is a difference between what you must declare and what is forbidden. Just because you have to declare it, it doesn't mean they will confiscate it. Agriculture may want to inspect it, and to determine if it is acceptable.

The proper thing to do is declare your food - 99 times out of a hundred (maybe more), the primary inspector will ask you what it is, and most things, chocolate, candy, cookies and about 95% of the stuff people actually bring - stuff other than meat, fruits, veggies, dairy, seeds, nuts, etc. - they will send you on your way. If you have any of those other things, they'll send you to be inspected, and you still may be ok.

The fact is - the US form does list the generic item "food" as one that must be declared (unlike most other countries, which list only specific kinds of foods). It is kind of sneaky the way they list it, because it is in the middle of a list of specific kinds of foods, so it is kind of hard to notice unless you are paying closer attention, but it is there in no uncertain terms. I live in the US, and when I used to bring cookies from home in Canada, etc. I would always have to declare "food," however, when asked what it was, I told them, and was always sent on my way. Going back to Canada, these items wouldn't need to be declared.

I once spoke with a customs officer at length about the food items that are not allowed into the US, and in no uncertain terms, he said that the only main categories of things that are 100% forbidden are citrus fruits (even those originating in the US) and goat meat. Other things, for example, fruits and vegetables may not be permitted based on something like country of origin (or if that can't be determined), but nothing else is outright. An apple, to use something that has been brought up in this thread, is not necessarily outright banned, if inspected by agriculture and determined to be from a place on a list of accepted countries (and dependent on where you are arriving from). However, my guess is, most of the time, simply not declaring your apple will lead to its confiscation if found, no inspection, because you failed to declare it.

One thing to note - may not be applicable to many on this board - but customs does seem to be loosening on this a bit, at least with trusted travelers. Those enrolled in Global Entry, and who use the kiosk's to enter instead of the paper customs forms, do not get asked to declare the generic "food," and are only asked to declare specific types of food, like most other countries I have been to do.

which states forbid this that have international arrivals?

Based on 25+ times through customs:

1) Wine is fine, but may be charged duty (less likely these days as they seemed to have figured it costs them $40 to collect $20).
2) Bread is fine
3) Cheese is fine. The law says you can't bring in raw milk cheeses aged less than 30 days. I always bring them in when I go to France, and I declare it on my form "raw milk cheese aged less than 30 days". Never, even lost a fromage.
4)Fresh Fruit and veg is unlikely to be allowed. I just don't bring in fresh fruit/veg.
5) Meat is not allowed. When I bring in the raw milk cheese, they usually say "got any sausages" or something similar.

If you have something really special, it might be worth the hassle to bring it in. My wife bought orchids from Hawaii to California (the two strictest agricultural importing states) and requested an inspection. Took about 20 minutes and they were cleared.

Utah -- DL 88 flies CDG-SLC, plus flights from Mexico. Arriving international passengers are allowed 1L of alcohol, and that's it. Bringing back a case of wine from your Paris trip would be an expensive mistake. It's not a matter of duties; 1L is a hard limit. Anything over that will be confiscated.

Technically speaking, passengers on domestic flights (or driving into the state) aren't allowed to bring any alcohol at all, but there's no customs inspection to catch you.

Utah allows only licensed distributors to bring any amount of alcohol into the state, with only a handful of exceptions (like the international arrivals at SLC or people moving to Utah with their wine cellar). Individuals bringing small amounts for their own personal use are not one of the exceptions.

Oh yawn, here we go again.

It doesn't take a degree in organic chemistry with a specialization in hydrocarbon fuels to understand that the fuel evaporates quickly and leaves no trace - not even for a gas chromatograph - you know those machines they put the "swab" into when shoes are swabed or when a box interior is swabed.

OTOH, these actions are usually spelled out by lawyers, and the like, who love to speculate about what could happen if.... Armchair quarterbacks and armchair lawyers also love to do that - especially when they have no vested interest in the topic at hand.

Well, each flight and each breath COULD be our last - and we will all eventually reach that situation.

Empty of fuel is just that - empty with no trace. Period.

Further to bureaucracy - It is interesting (for me) to note that flying into/out of other countries is easier BUT more expensive due to taxes and fuel surcharges, etc and those countries do not seem to be as excited about my travels around this planet. Page 3 of my Canadian passport has no restrictions as to which country I travel to or thru. I refer US customs types to that page when they ask why I travel and keep pushing the issue. Telling the truth is what I deal in when talking with US customs types and to me that is always the best policy. However, I will not be abused by any bureaucrat - and in a different Canada customs inspection situation, I had to ask for the superintendent when a Canadian border type told me that he could not allow me entry into Canada... BUT, that is another story.

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.

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