DWP wrote:
    >
    > Gomez Adams wrote:
    > >
    > > I will be in France in March and I want to bring some unpasteurized
    > > French cheese back to the US. I would normally try to put it in my
    > > luggage, however, I have heard that the new scanning equipment will
    > > think that it might be an explosive. Would it be better to try to put
    > > it in a carry-on? Anyone had any experiences with cheese and the
    > > airlines?
    >
    > I have brought back 5 or 6 pounds of cheese on at least 10 occassions
    > from Paris to the US and never had any customs issues with it. On the US
    > customs declaration where it asks if you are carrying any food, I always
    > check YES and write in "cheese"; I'm no smuggler. No official has ever
    > asked me anything about it. No dog has ever given me a second sniff (I
    > hear they're looking for meat).

I also have brought cheese into the US, declaring it on the customs form
and have never had a problem.

Barbara

le Fri, 31 Jan 2003 12:07:49 +0100, dans l'article , Barbara Vaughan a dit ...=20

{ snip }

    >> Not much difference between 'pasteurised' (or '-ized'), and 'pasteuris=
=E9'.

    > Aha! But if it doesn't say "pasteurise' ", how are they to know that on=
e
    > of the other words doesn't mean "pasteurized"?

Um ... erm ...=20

What ?

--=20
Desmond Coughlan=20
desmond @ zeouane.org
http: // www . zeouane . org

Desmond Coughlan wrote:
    >
    > le Thu, 30 Jan 2003 21:58:37 -0800, dans l'article , tom a dit ...
    >
    > >> I will be in France in March and I want to bring some unpasteurized
    > >> French cheese back to the US. Anyone had any experiences with cheese
    > >> and the
    > >> airlines?
    >
    > > USDA and Customs keep chaning their mind about what cheese you can and
    > > cannot bring in. You always used to be able to bring aged cheese in, until
    > > the hoof & mouth disease epeidemic, and then you couldn't bring any cheese
    > > in at all from anywhere in eruope. Now you cna again at least bring in
    > > aged cheese - and how is the customs inspector to know if it s aged or
    > > pasteurized? Do you expect that they actualoy can read french?
    >
    > Not much difference between 'pasteurised' (or '-ized'), and 'pasteurisé'.

Aha! But if it doesn't say "pasteurise' ", how are they to know that one
of the other words doesn't mean "pasteurized"?

Barbara

Which cheese shops in Paris offer vacuum packing?! I'm heading there next
month and will plan on bringing some cheese home if I know where to go!

--

"DWP" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Gomez Adams wrote:
    > >
    > > I will be in France in March and I want to bring some unpasteurized
    > > French cheese back to the US. I would normally try to put it in my
    > > luggage, however, I have heard that the new scanning equipment will
    > > think that it might be an explosive. Would it be better to try to put
    > > it in a carry-on? Anyone had any experiences with cheese and the
    > > airlines?
    > I have brought back 5 or 6 pounds of cheese on at least 10 occassions
    > from Paris to the US and never had any customs issues with it. On the US
    > customs declaration where it asks if you are carrying any food, I always
    > check YES and write in "cheese"; I'm no smuggler. No official has ever
    > asked me anything about it. No dog has ever given me a second sniff (I
    > hear they're looking for meat).
    > Each of the two cheese shops I usually use offers vacuum packing
    > (emballage sous vide), which I find worthwhile, since I carry it on in
    > my hand luggage. Before this was available, the overhead compartment in
    > the plane could end up smelling a little ripe after 7 hours.
    > For soft cheeses like Camembert I ask for it "pas trop fait", not very
    > ripe, as it will mature considerably during the time it's travelling
    > unrefrigerated. All of it is unpasteurized.
    > Sharing this little feast with friends upon return is always a treat for
    > all, and worth the lugging around. Unfortunately, the bagettes don't
    > travel as well...
    > David

le Fri, 31 Jan 2003 12:11:39 +0100, dans l'article , Gordon Walker a dit ...

    > Which cheese shops in Paris offer vacuum packing?!

Monoprix. ;-)

/ \
|
|
Note the smiley

--
Desmond Coughlan
desmond @ zeouane.org
http: // www . zeouane . org

    >>
    >> Smuggling is a crime. It's extremely foolish to ask for help
    >> committing a crime--especially using your real E-mail address--in
    >> a public forum.
    >
    > Depends upon what you call "smuggling" - I don't think the OP was
    > planning to bring in large quantities with the idea of selling it for a
    > profit (which is what true "smugglers" do). A bit of fine cheese for
    > personal use is hardly in the same class - more in the nature of a
    > souvenir. (Like Belgian chocolates, which I've never had any qualms
    > about taking through customs - nor has anyone ever questioned me about
    > them.)
    >

Belgian chocolates are perfectly acceptable to bring into the US. There
is nothing harmful in chocolates. Unpasturized milk cheese is a different
story.

Best to ask before you go.

Barbara Vaughan wrote:
    >
    > DWP wrote:
    > > I have brought back 5 or 6 pounds of cheese on at least 10 occassions
    > > from Paris to the US and never had any customs issues with it. On the US
    > > customs declaration where it asks if you are carrying any food, I always
    > > check YES and write in "cheese"; I'm no smuggler. No official has ever
    > > asked me anything about it. No dog has ever given me a second sniff (I
    > > hear they're looking for meat).

    > I also have brought cheese into the US, declaring it on the customs form
    > and have never had a problem.
    >

Me. too - I've always declared it (both on the form and verbally, to the
customs officer), and never had any problem.

S Viemeister wrote:
    >> > asked me anything about it. No dog has ever given me a second sniff (I
    >> > hear they're looking for meat).
    >
    >> I also have brought cheese into the US, declaring it on the customs form
    >> and have never had a problem.
    >>
    >
    > Me. too - I've always declared it (both on the form and verbally, to the
    > customs officer), and never had any problem.

This is not a customs issue, it is a Department of Agriculture issue. And
unless you got caught, which is unlikely but possible, you would not have
any problem.

The ecosystem might have a problem, if a foreign bacteria or small insect
hitched a ride in on your cheese.

I suspect the person who brought in the coconuts from the Caribbean to Florida
had no problem. Florida's palm trees are now sick and dying because a pest,
invisible to the naked eye, came in on those coconuts, possibly was in the
discarded shell.

The Department of Agriculture does not list cheeses as permitted items.

Julie
--
Julie
**********
Check out my Traval Pages (non-commercial) at
http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm

Desmond Coughlan wrote:
    >
    > le Fri, 31 Jan 2003 12:07:49 +0100, dans l'article , Barbara Vaughan a dit ...
    >
    > { snip }
    >
    > >> Not much difference between 'pasteurised' (or '-ized'), and 'pasteurisé'.
    >
    > > Aha! But if it doesn't say "pasteurise' ", how are they to know that one
    > > of the other words doesn't mean "pasteurized"?
    >
    > Um ... erm ...
    >
    > What ?

He was planning on bringing back an unpasteurized cheese, which I don't
think would have the cognate word on its label to help the customs
officials decipher the French.

Barbara

Juliana L Holm wrote in
news:[email protected]:

    > S Viemeister wrote:
    >>> > asked me anything about it. No dog has ever given me a second
    >>> > sniff (I hear they're looking for meat).
    >>
    >>> I also have brought cheese into the US, declaring it on the customs
    >>> form and have never had a problem.
    >>>
    >>
    >> Me. too - I've always declared it (both on the form and verbally, to
    >> the customs officer), and never had any problem.
    >
    > This is not a customs issue, it is a Department of Agriculture issue.
    > And unless you got caught, which is unlikely but possible, you would
    > not have any problem.


AFIK there are Dept. of Agriculture personnel at customs. Is this no
longer so?

Emilia wrote:
    >>
    >> This is not a customs issue, it is a Department of Agriculture issue.
    >> And unless you got caught, which is unlikely but possible, you would
    >> not have any problem.

    > AFIK there are Dept. of Agriculture personnel at customs. Is this no
    > longer so?

Yes, but not nearly as many as there are of customs. DA does not have nearly
the manpower. After all it is no longer a security issue here.
And it seems to be focused on keeping fruit out of the Caribbean, which I
guess is their biggest risk. But that does not mean that we need
to ignore possibility of European pests.

They depend largely on people to follow the rules.

This summer I went on vacation for a week to Southern North Carolina. While
there, my husband and I visited Great smokey Mountain National part. I did a
trip report on it on my web site:

http://www.dragonsholm.org/ncar2002.htm

One thing we saw, and you can see, and it is about a third of the way down
the page, was the devastation that the balsam woolly adelgid has wreaked.
This is a european pest that has killed over 80% of the fir trees at the highest
elevations of the park. We're spending, as taxpayers, millions to try to
fight this pest. And it came in because someone decided they wanted to
import something from Europe (and I don't know what it was) that they should
not, and they introduced this pest.

There are lots of situations where imported pests have taken over and destroyed
our native species. Is it really worth the risk to bring a hunk of cheese that
is forbidden back? I don't think so, and I think that people who know this
risk and go ahead and bring forbidden agricultural products in are terribly
selfish.

Just MHO, but a strong one.

Julie




--
Julie
**********
Check out my Traval Pages (non-commercial) at
A
http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm

In article ,
Barbara Vaughan wrote:

    > DWP wrote:
    > >
    > > Gomez Adams wrote:
    > > >
    > > > I will be in France in March and I want to bring some unpasteurized
    > > > French cheese back to the US. I would normally try to put it in my
    > > > luggage, however, I have heard that the new scanning equipment will
    > > > think that it might be an explosive. Would it be better to try to put
    > > > it in a carry-on? Anyone had any experiences with cheese and the
    > > > airlines?
    > >
    > > I have brought back 5 or 6 pounds of cheese on at least 10 occassions
    > > from Paris to the US and never had any customs issues with it. On the US
    > > customs declaration where it asks if you are carrying any food, I always
    > > check YES and write in "cheese"; I'm no smuggler. No official has ever
    > > asked me anything about it. No dog has ever given me a second sniff (I
    > > hear they're looking for meat).
    >
    > I also have brought cheese into the US, declaring it on the customs form
    > and have never had a problem.
    >
    > Barbara

was that after the recent outbreaks of hoof and mouth?

Emilia wrote:
    > Juliana L Holm wrote:
    >> S Viemeister wrote:
    >>>>> asked me anything about it. No dog has ever given me a second
    >>>>> sniff (I hear they're looking for meat).
    >>>>
    >>>> I also have brought cheese into the US, declaring it on the customs
    >>>> form and have never had a problem.
    >>>>
    >>>
    >>> Me. too - I've always declared it (both on the form and verbally, to
    >>> the customs officer), and never had any problem.
    >>
    >> This is not a customs issue, it is a Department of Agriculture issue.
    >> And unless you got caught, which is unlikely but possible, you would
    >> not have any problem.
    > AFIK there are Dept. of Agriculture personnel at customs. Is this no
    > longer so?

I brought a decent-sized cheese into the US from the Netherlands in late
December. I told the customs people about it, and they referred me to the
Agriculture people standing nearby, and they told me to go on through.

I don't know enough about cheese to know whether or not it was pasteurized
(and tragically, it's all been eaten, so I can't check the label!) It was a
jonge Gouda, encased in wax.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu
Latest addition: 80 photos from Guatemala

Miguel Cruz wrote:

    > I brought a decent-sized cheese into the US from the Netherlands in late
    > December. I told the customs people about it, and they referred me to the
    > Agriculture people standing nearby, and they told me to go on through.

    > I don't know enough about cheese to know whether or not it was pasteurized
    > (and tragically, it's all been eaten, so I can't check the label!) It was a
    > jonge Gouda, encased in wax.


while their web site does not say it, I have heard that hard cheese is OK and
soft cheese is not.


--
Julie
**********
Check out my Traval Pages (non-commercial) at
http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm

Juliana L Holm wrote in
news:[email protected]:

    > Emilia wrote:
    >>>
    >>> This is not a customs issue, it is a Department of Agriculture
    >>> issue. And unless you got caught, which is unlikely but possible,
    >>> you would not have any problem.
    >
    >> AFIK there are Dept. of Agriculture personnel at customs. Is this no
    >> longer so?
    >
    > Yes, but not nearly as many as there are of customs. DA does not have
    > nearly the manpower. After all it is no longer a security issue here.
    > And it seems to be focused on keeping fruit out of the Caribbean,
    > which I guess is their biggest risk. But that does not mean that we
    > need to ignore possibility of European pests.
    >
    > They depend largely on people to follow the rules.
    >
    > This summer I went on vacation for a week to Southern North Carolina.
    > While there, my husband and I visited Great smokey Mountain National
    > part. I did a trip report on it on my web site:
    >
    > http://www.dragonsholm.org/ncar2002.htm
    >
    > One thing we saw, and you can see, and it is about a third of the way
    > down the page, was the devastation that the balsam woolly adelgid has
    > wreaked. This is a european pest that has killed over 80% of the fir
    > trees at the highest elevations of the park. We're spending, as
    > taxpayers, millions to try to fight this pest. And it came in because
    > someone decided they wanted to import something from Europe (and I
    > don't know what it was) that they should not, and they introduced this
    > pest.
    >
    > There are lots of situations where imported pests have taken over and
    > destroyed our native species. Is it really worth the risk to bring a
    > hunk of cheese that is forbidden back? I don't think so, and I think
    > that people who know this risk and go ahead and bring forbidden
    > agricultural products in are terribly selfish.
    >
    > Just MHO, but a strong one.
    >
    > Julie

Well, assuming that the person declares the cheese then I would guess
that the DA would know whether it was OK or not. So it is really up to
the OP to decide whether he/she wants to take the risk of getting it
confiscated or not, considering it is not on the list or either
prohibited or allowed items.

I certainly wouldn't recommend that s/he smuggle it in.