buckeyefanflyer

I was there a few years ago and went to a Costco near Pearl Harbor and actually bought some pineapples and brought them back to Ohio. I heard TSA is now cutting open all pineapples to check for dangerous weapons of mass distruction that may be inside.

beckoa

bocastephen

I think he was kidding

beckoa

not to drift too much o/t.... but I wouldn't put it past the TSA to do such a thing... and kinda would ruin the pineapple... As it is, they don't know how to repack them well after a normal 'search'...

:-: Mele Kamikimaka :-:

philemer

OK, keiki, back on topic.

Lavarock7

I know that California and Hawaii both have serious inbound inspections concerning fruit and plants. Although it has been mentioned "smuggling" items out of Hawaii, I can tell you that sneaking something INTO Hawaii is a serious offense. You might not get caught, but it could be devastating to the farmers.

Years ago a plant came in from South America and a very tiny coqui frog (or egg) was on the plant. It spread throughout the Big Island and we have not been able to rid ourselves of it. They may populate up to 10,000 per acre and have no enemies here and whose sound can reach 80-90db.

Whole containers of Christmas trees have been shipped back to the mainland because some wasps were found on a branch of a tree.

We recently found a coffee cherry borer which may have come in on a plant or someones shoes. Many Kona coffee farms now have tree damage from it. Hawaii was the last coffee growing area known to be free of the pest and we may lose large amounts of crops due to it.

So while it may seem like no big thing to sneak fruit or plants past inspectors, the travelers destination may be forever changed.

Please make sure that all fruit, plants and farm items are inspected properly.

Mary2e

Lavarock - I fully appreciate your concerns and completely agree with them.

But we're talking about smuggling stuff OUT of Hawaii, not in I wouldn't dare knowingly take anything in, as I'm fully aware the harm it can do.

You can't even buy papayas at the airport any longer because those which are inspected cost a small fortune. Pineapples are the only things we can get out.

I called around a few years ago to find out if I could have fruit inspected/treated on my own, and the answer was no. Someone has one heck of a racket in HI.

What irks me is that my mainland flight is non-stop to NJ, and often in the dead of winter. Even if something is on a piece of fruit it certainly isn't going to survive the trip or the winter. I fully understand if the flight was stopping in CA where much of the country's food is grown.

YVR Cockroach

I thought the last pineapple plantation in Maui was closing a few years back?

Those of you in warmer climes should try growing your own.

Lavarock7

That is why are they inspecting your luggage when you leave! To ensure you are not smuggling things out with bugs or problems.

bocastephen

But I find it highly unlikely that store bought lilikoi, guava, papaya, etc. would have bugs or problems. I think they should allow these fruits (along with pineapple) to be taken off the islands if you have a store receipt or submit them for visual inspection.

Of course your destination can ban their import, but that's your problem on arrival, not departure.

cblaisd

Actually, it could be very likely and I've seen bugs on such more than once. A store receipt is just not enough of a guarantee (since, as noted, it was from a shipment to a store that caused the infernal coqui frog invasion). And there are some nasty things that really are either too small to see or are too easily concealed in certain fruits/vegetables.

youreadyfreddie

Several years ago (before the shoe carnival and the War on Toothpaste) on a trip home from Hawaii I bought a bunch of pineapples, six I think. The store kept the shipping boxes for people who want to check a case as luggage on the flight home, and the boxes were under the fruit display cases and easily retrievable by the customer. I think it was a Safeway near Waipahu. Yes they WERE grocery store pineapples from a supermarket chain, but the ones I tasted were good and those I gave away got rave reviews.

bocastephen

Hali'imaile Pineapple (growers of the Maui Gold line) are still very much alive and well - although production is limited to inter-Island use and some shipments to specific retailers on the US west coast. Dole also grows pineapples for consumption on the islands, but their mainland market is factory-farmed gas-ripened crap from Central America.

I prefer the Maui Golds - very sweet and juicy.

beckoa

muahahah... have a Maui Gold sitting in my condo right now... ripe for cutting up

beckoa

Moving stuff to ANC in the middle of winter... back in the day my dad thinks they didn't stop stuff on the n/s HA between HNL and ANC...