TransnationalElite

Hi!

So, we've got about 3 weeks before we pack and move to an intermediate destination till our things arrive in the US.

I have a small range of spices, dry non perishable items like pulse/lentils, speciality oils eg: pumpkin seed oil from Austria and a collection of teas, some of which I was planning more of tp bring over. Not expensive, fancy tea but they do herbal children's teas here which have been great for my little one and I wanted to take with me.

Would any of the above items be restricted or cause a delay due to scans/searches at Customs? Thinking about the oil in particular.

Also, does anyone know if homeopathic medicines are allowed to be shipped? Either in liquid or tablet form?

Thanks!

TransnationalElite

I'd rather not have to find all the spices etc all over again...

md95065

Why not just buy some bottled water when you get here?

RICH

They sell spices in the shops here, it is not like you have to forage in the woods for them.

Pulaski

Our shipment 13 years ago included most of the above (no oil that I recall), and caused us, and our shipment, no inconvenience what so ever. We also had 80 sealed bottles of spirits, which we declared and paid duty on, again with no adverse consequences.

YEMV.

Sally Redux

We were told not to bring anything like that.

I think oils and spices would go a bit manky anyway.

yellowroom

I would have thought that unless you have large containers, you could put the dry goods like spices and teas in your luggage when you fly over? Would be better than sitting in a hot and humid container for several weeks.

MsElui

our packers in 2007 (pickfords) absolutely refused to pack any bottles or jars/ food etc- so i had to get rid of a large booze collection and a tonne of food/cleaning materials. My parents gladly took the booze lol and i donated the cleaning items to the daycare nursery.

i have heard of others packers packing things like that and just turning a blind eye or even helping you hide it in the shipment with vague descriptions.

thinbrit

I had my whole house in storage with Pickfords when I decided to emigrate, everything but short term perishables. From shampoo to cooking oil (don't mix the two).
They shipped the whole lot, without a hitch. I had an opened box of rather nice Cuban cigars a friend brought back from his recent holiday in Cuba. I forgot all about them. They came over too ...

jmood

I had all of the above shipped when I was coming. Nothing had any issues with customs.

The spices were totally fine. As long as they are in their original (or good) containers, hopefully glass, most spices are fine for many many years.

Oils, yes, they can oxidise over time. So depends how quickly you will open on the other end. A few months should be fine. Yes, there is the risk of the bottle breaking and the oil seeping through, but given the multiple layers of paper they get packed in, usually the surrounds will remain mostly fine. A couple of mine broke and it was only the paper that got soaked, other items were OK.

Spirits - again, depends how well they get packed. If you only have a few (and I mean 3, 4, 5 bottles, nothing in the tens, like Pulaski) then I wouldn't even bother with the paperwork declaring them. I had several and they weren't even sealed, they were semi-used and they made it over fine.

TransnationalElite

Great responses everyone! thank you!

No forest foraging but I don't see the point in trying to restock my spice collection when I already have them and don't really have anyone to pass them on to. So I think I'll try to take them in luggage as suggested.

I only have two bottles of that oil - part used and under a litre in total I think. I'l just try to pack really well to avoid leaks and also put it in luggage.

The other thing I'm understanding is that checks may also depend on what you declare on the forms? We don't really have any spirits or tobacco to ship, just the usual toiletries and maybe the odd cleaning spray or detergent. Should I bother to mention them?

WEBlue

Same for us. Best for the OP to directly ask their own removals representative, really.

We moved in 2011 and our packers also refused to take any "organic matter", i.e. foodstuffs of any kind, spices, oils, even in sealed containers. We also had to clean any garden tools and bicycles of all dirt or grease.

The fear was that anything "organic" in the shipment would trigger an expensive extra inspection at the American port of entry.

How the American authorities would detect food or spices or tea bags buried inside the shipment was something of a puzzle to me, but we were told we risked a hefty inspection fee and a long holdup while they searched the boxes, so we gave away all foods & liquids as directed in order to keep our shipment 'clean'.

Pulaski

They won't/ can't, it was just scaremongering. There are tens of thousands of freight containers entering the US every day, and the chances of any one being opened and inspected box by box is negligible, especially when the decision to inspect is partially based on where the container came from, and the UK is not high risk for shipping drugs, arms, or other contraband.

TransnationalElite

Ours will be coming in from Europe somewhere. Czech Republic to Hamburg and from there to a port to be shipped out. Thats all I know. Should be alright. Don't think we really have anything 'organic' other than the aforementioned. We have bikes that we shipped over from the UK and they're still in their packaging from their. We never even got around to using them here.

WEBlue

Do you have a shipper you can ask? It's really their job as your importing agent to get your personal goods from point A to point B, so I would discuss it with them if at all possible.

All First World countries do random security checks on incoming freight, no matter what the country of origin. Here are some explanatory links like the ones we were directed to three years ago:
https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/det...%20shipment%3F
https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/det...-station-after