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 . 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

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 .......

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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.