From the New York Times

April 21, 2002

PRACTICAL TRAVELER
Bringing Home The Bacon. Not.
By SUSAN CATTO

SAMPLING the local food and wine is one of the joys of travel, and many tourists find themselves tempted to put that Serrano ham or Caribbean papaya into their luggage and smuggle it back to the United States. Yet bringing in prohibited foods can result in a hefty fine. Even worse, your edible souvenir could carry diseases or pests that might ravage local species.

Wine and liquor pose a different problem: the drinks themselves are not prohibited, but the amount you can bring in is restricted. So should you pass up that Italian cheese and leave the bargain Bordeaux behind? Not necessarily. You may be able to bring back more than you think, safely and legally.

Every traveler visiting or returning to the United States has to make a written or oral Customs declaration, including details of any produce, meat, tobacco or alcohol purchased abroad. Customs or Department of Agriculture officials may then inspect your goods, charge a duty or tax, or confiscate and destroy any forbidden products.

There are some items you shouldn’t even bother packing. Fresh, cured or dried meat and meat products are usually prohibited because meat can carry pathogens or viruses deadly to American livestock. (Meat can be imported from Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Hawaii, but proof of origin is required.) The rule can seem silly to city dwellers who never set foot on farms, but according to Anna Cherry, a spokeswoman for the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (Aphis), anyone’s salami can end up in the food chain.

&quotigs eat trash," said Ms. Cherry. "If you bought some great meat product from a country that has foot and mouth disease or some other animal disease that we don’t have here, and you’ve thrown out the scraps, they could end up in a pig’s dinner."

Similar reasoning applies to fruits, vegetables and plant products, which can carry diseases and pests. A single traveler’s wormy fruit was blamed for a 1979 outbreak of Mediterranean fruit flies in California. You could promise to eat or incinerate every morsel (including the label and packaging), but with billions of dollars at stake, the government isn’t taking any chances.

"We’re going to err on the side of caution," said Ms. Cherry. Even fruit left over from a foreign grocery store or from the meal on your flight home should be declared. "Things you’ve picked off a tree are the worst," said Ms. Cherry, who points out that the imported fruit sold in United States grocery stores is subject to extensive safeguards and treatments.

Cheese: Yes and No

The Aphis brochure "Travelers’ Tips," PA 1083, has five lists of approved products, which vary depending on the region visited. (It is available online at www.aphis.usda.gov/o… or by writing to USDA-Aphis Public Affairs, 4700 River Road, Unit 51, Riverdale, Md. 20737, Attn: AQI Publications.) The "general list" covers goods from any country and is surprisingly broad. Baked goods, candies, seeds, spices, canned sauces, mushrooms, roasted coffee beans and most fresh or dried flowers are also permitted. Fresh cheeses (e.g., cottage cheese) are forbidden, but hard, fully cured cheeses are acceptable. You can return from your European vacation laden with Swiss licorice, German Stollen, English cheddar, Italian espresso beans and a baguette baked that morning in Paris, and agriculture officials won’t raise an eyebrow.

If you’ve visited Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands, you have even more options. Except for black currants, all Canadian fruits and vegetables are acceptable. Mexican jumping beans, litchis and grapes are allowed, though Mexican potatoes, sweet potatoes and yams are not. Hawaiian coconuts are permitted unless you are going to Florida, and breadfruits, chayotes and citrus can be imported from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

As for that great local wine, if you’re over 21, you can return with up to one liter of alcoholic beverage for your personal use without paying tax or duty. Most states allow additional alcohol, provided it is for personal use, not resale. In New York State there is no set definition of &quotersonal use."

"A person can bring in a couple of gallons, easily, of extra alcoholic beverages without running into any major problems," said John Henry, a United States Customs passenger service representative at Kennedy International airport. Some states — Utah, for example — forbid extra alcohol altogether, but Customs officials use their discretion. If you’re flying into Salt Lake City but catching a connecting flight to California, where the limit is $1,950 worth, you should be able to take your extra bottles with you. Contact your state’s alcoholic beverage control office for more information.

If your state allows it, the cost of bringing in extra alcohol is minimal. The Internal Revenue Service tax on additional liters of still wine is just 28 cents a liter or $1.07 a gallon. Champagne and sparkling wines are taxed at 89 cents a liter, and a liter of 80-proof hard liquor would be subject to a tax of $2.85. You pay duty only if your total purchases (including alcohol and other goods) exceed your normal duty-free exemption.

Fines for Smuggling

Some items are prohibited for reasons other than food safety. The United States embargo on trade with Cuba means that Cuban cigars are forbidden even if purchased outside Cuba. Items derived from endangered species are also restricted, including most ivory, tortoise-shell and whalebone products. Details are available in the United States Customs brochure "Know Before You Go" (available at www.customs.us treas.gov/travel/travel.htm or by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to Customs Service, Post Office Box 7407, Washington, D.C. 20044).

If you’re caught trying to sneak food or wine into the country you could face on-the-spot fines of up to $1,000. Inspectors for the Department of Agriculture catch more than 3,000 offenders every month. Some are found through questioning, baggage inspection and X-rays, but an increasing number are sniffed out by the Beagle Brigade, a dog-and-officer force patrolling many of the nation’s airports. Quincey, an 8-year-old beagle, sniffs incoming luggage at Dulles Airport near Washington, sitting down next to any bag that smells of food. According to Jennifer Jones, a canine officer, most travelers plead ignorance when caught by Quincey’s sensitive nose. "I’ve had people hand me a hundred-dollar ham and not even bat an eye," said Ms. Jones. `They just say, ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t know.’ "

If you have second thoughts about smuggling that leg of lamb, simply declare it. "No one is going to get in trouble if they declare," said Ms. Cherry. You’ll be allowed to keep any safe items, and while prohibited goods will be confiscated, at least you won’t be fined for trying to bring them into the country.

SUSAN CATTO contributes to The Times from Toronto.