Heading home? Be careful what you pack

[unhappycamper]

Heading home? Be careful what you pack
By Mark Abramson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, November 15, 2008

That holiday gift from Europe for mom and dad in the States could cost you big bucks and even jail time if it isn’t declared and it doesn’t conform to U.S. customs laws.

The biggest "don’t" as far as bringing or mailing goodies to the United States is transporting meat products, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said.

"The biggest problem is, everybody wants to bring home sausage from Germany," said Janice Mosher, director of the U.S. Customs customer service center in Washington, D.C. "Because the disease conditions of animals changes so frequently, we just advise people to avoid bringing home meat products."

Bringing a banned food item into the States without declaring it is a minimum $300 fine, and if it is done deliberately, it could result in a $5,000 fine and a year in jail, Customs officials warn.

"Anybody can be inspected at any time (when they arrive in the United States)," Mosher said.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=58821