This was taken from the US Customs website on August 1 2006. Should be fairly accurate but check with the local POE for latest info.
Updated August 1 2006 (Subject to further updates and revisions without notice)
Many fruits and vegetables are either prohibited from entering the United States or require an import permit (for commercial importers) or a phytosanitary certificate from the country of origin. Every fruit or vegetable must be declared to a CBP Officer and must be presented for inspection - no matter how free of pests it appears to be. Failure to declare food products can result in a $10,000 fine. See special guidelines for produce from Canada below.
Meats, livestock, poultry, and their products are either prohibited or restricted from entering the United States, depending on the animal disease condition in the country of origin. Fresh meat is generally prohibited from most countries. Canned, cured, or dried meat is severely restricted from some countries. See special guidelines for animal products from Canada below, and our Q&A on meat, poultry and swine products for a more complete discussion of food items from those sources.
Bakery items, candy, chocolate, and cured cheese are generally admissible. Canned goods and goods in vacuum packed jars (other than those containing meat or poultry products)are also generally admissible if being imported for personal use.
Dairy items such as milk, yogurt, butter are generally admissible, although this is subject to change, depending on disease outbreaks. Eggs may be admissible, although frequent outbreaks of Exotic Newcastles Disease and avian flu make it very likely that they will be denied entry. Hard cured cheese such as parmesan or cheddar are generally admissible, soft cheeses such as brie and soft curd cheese and cheese in water(ricotta, feta, etc.) are not.
Fish, if it is for your personal use, is generally admissible.
Condiments such as oil, vinegar, mustard, catsup, pickles, syrup, honey, jelly, jam, etc., are generally admissible.
Fruits and vegetables grown in Canada are generally admissible, if they have labels identifying them as products of Canada. Fruits and vegetables merely purchased in Canada are not necessarily admissible, ie. citrus or tropical fruits such as mangos, which clearly were not grown in Canada because it does not have a climate that supports those crops. (Potatoes from western regions of Canada are currently restricted because of a disease outbreak. While commercial imports are permitted under stringent guidelines, travelers from Canada should avoid bringing raw potatoes with them into the US).
Currently NO RUMINANT PRODUCTS FROM CANADA MAY ENTER THE U.S. without a permit. This includes frozen, cooked, canned or otherwise processed beef, lamb, and veal. Hunter harvested game is admissible from Canada for the traveler's personal use if accompanied with a permit. For more information on hunter harvested game visit the USDA website. Fresh or frozen raw poultry and eggs are not permitted entry without a certificate from the Canadian Department of Food and Agriculture. Cooked poultry, pork, milk, butter and cured cheeses (Cheddar, etc.) and eggs are permitted entry. However, all such products must be in packages clearly marked with Canada (or the U.S.) as the country of origin. If there is any question as to the country of origin, the product will be denied entry. Pet food with meat by-products is not admissible as traveler's baggage.
Pork and pork products are not admissible from Mexico.
Other then the above general guidelines, it is impossible to advise you in this forum about the admissibility of specific food items because it is so susceptible to change. Disease and pest outbreaks, which impact the admissibility status of fresh and packaged food items, occur all over the world at a moments notice.
Failure to declare all food products can result in civil penalties.
Because CBP inspectors are stationed at ports of entry and along our land and sea borders, they are often called upon to enforce laws and requirements of other government agencies. Because of the complexities of regulations governing the importation of food, CBP officers may need to contact an expert for information about what is or is not admissible. If no expert is available, food may be detained in the interest of preventing possible food-borne diseases into the U.S. This is done to protect community health, preserve domestic plant and animals life, etc.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture establishes criteria for the admissibility of plant, dairy and meat products returning with travelers and they have the final say about what may be admitted into the U.S. The USDA web site: Click on Travelers' Tips has somewhat more detailed information for travelers, and they can be contacted at 301-734-8896 for information about the admissibility of plant or plant products.
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Dave
I RV, I Golf - Therefore I Am.
'03 F250 Crew Cab 6L PSD
05 Cardinal 30TS - Custom Paint, TrailAir suspension & Pin Box, & lots more goodies
Onan Microlite 2.8 - with auto transfer
Mio C520 GPS Navigator
This topic is some what ridiculous,lets just buy what we need in each other country and it saves a lot of messages on this forum. Take dry or canned goods and buy the rest and support both country's.
Boy was that easy or what.
george
George,Jennifer (Merllin And Gunner)
2001 F350 7.3 Diesel 4x4 3:73 Rear End
2000 27RBS SunnyBrook
Rustyrver wrote: This topic is some what ridiculous,lets just buy what we need in each other country and it saves a lot of messages on this forum. Take dry or canned goods and buy the rest and support both country's.
Boy was that easy or what.
george
While I might agree with you that we should support both countries, I think that this post is a very informative and welcome bit of information that many people are asking about.
We leave for Anchorage tonight, and I am happy to know that I don't have to stock my MH nearly as much as I would if I were staying in the territory. If you find it a ridiculous topic, don't read it!
Nothing ridiculous about this post, that's why we have this forum to assist others in getting information, sometimes a post seems ridiculous, to us, must remember that some people are not as informed. I for one will be leaving or Vt. from Mi. and will be going across Canada and have no idea what I cane leave Mi. with and re-enter the U.S. except for guns and booze.
2007 43ft. Country Coach Allure w/tag 4 slides
2006 Jeep Liberty 4WD
W/ German Shepard
I spoke to US Agriculture this morning and they faxed me a sheet of the things that we can/can't bring in to the US
Jan 06 we could not bring in raw poultry or eggs - they are now allowed
Beef/beef products still are not allowed
Commerial packaged or home processed beef, veal, lamb and bison are prohibited.
Pork/Fish is allowed
Dog food made in Canada is not allowed, but if made in US it's okay,
I have the sheet, so if you have any specifics let me know and I will check if it is on there.
We do not purposely shop and stock up before we leave. Rather than give things away that we have in our fridge, freezer or cupboards or have them get stale while we are away I would rather be able to take them and use them up. We are supporting the local economy as we couldn't possibly take a winters worth of food with us (or want to for that matter!)
We crossed on Tuesday Jan 2/07 and I called Homeland Security 906-632-2631 on Dec 31. The comments from Officer Fazzari who I talked to were " No beef or unlabelled meat, no citrus everything else is okay". When we crossed at Detroit/Windsor the agent came into the 5th wheel and checked the refrigerator and freezer and said "enjoy your trip"! Dry dog food in an open bag which was produced in USA was OKAY!
Time to update this post!!
As when dealing with any government agencies, you can get two different answers on two different days. It still is our responsibility to check on what we can and cannot do as we cross borders. The same thing seems to happen when crossing into California with veggies and fruits. Some days they are "picky" and others days they aren't even checking.
Frank
We crossed through Peace Arch (British Columbia- Washington)today. Went through an agricultural inspection, the young lady was great, the border staff were polite and even allowed us to use one of the crates they have for their seach dogs for our Shepherd. We ended up losing, snap peas (from China) corn on the cob, (couldn't determine country of origin) and green onions from our garden (could have kept the white part but had to lose the greens). We were allowed to take over , eggs, chicken, pork, tuna, and salmon. Dog food was from the US so also was OK. All in all it wasn't a bad experience, I have no problem with reasonable regulations. The experience with the custom agents overall was excellent.
Michael
2007 Dodge 3500 Quad 6.7 L Cummins
2006 SunnyBrook 32BKWS
wife Diane and 110lb German Shepherd "Tye"
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