Hellopaul

Hello

We are due to ship a 20ft container of household stuff (all inventoried etc) over to USA next week. Inevitably, we still have some odds and ends of food in the kitchen, such as dried herbs and spices, olive oil...nothing perishable, no meat, veg, etc.

Would the customs people throw a fit if they knew we had these in our container? Or would they just be worried about fruit/veg/meat etc?

Logically, because it's OK to post foods to USA as gifts (according to the FDA), then this small amount of food should be no problem. But does anyone have any experience of this? Does anyone want me to ship a few thousand PG Tips tea bags over for them?

Thanks!

Swisstony

so our removals company were VERY insistent that for each and EVERY item of food (definition included herbs, spices, wine etc) we had to provide details of the name and address of the manufacturer on a form which was apparently required by the FDA.

I didn't believe a word of it, but humoured them with a few names and addresses of vineyards in Italy and hid all the rest in boxes of towels and bedding and the like.

FionaC

Our movers didn't allow us to bring any food whatsoever. We were told it would be confiscated by customs. I think I could have got away with all those "dried goods" really and ended up having to give everything away which was a bit annoying (and very expensive to replace!)

Noorah101

I don't know about shipped items, but we were allowed to bring in nuts, dried fruit, and dried herbs & spices in our checked-in luggage (from Turkey).

Rene

The Horticulturalist

Our shipping company said it was more hassle than it was worth to have food in the container.
I think it would seriously increase the likelihood of customs wanting to open your container if you have food listed on the inventory, and you'll have to pay them for the privilege.

We were a family of four coming over so we took the max amount of cases and carry on baggage allowed on the plane, I had enough teabags to last a year in there. Herbs you can get here, I did take a lot of curry spices from asian grocery stores as I live in a small town and can't get those kinds of things very easily.

Jerseygirl

Fresh fruit, veg and meat are a no-no whether you're shipping or bringing it in by air. There is a list of foods you can bring into the US on the gov website....Google is your friend.

I bring a few thousand PG tea bags, plus other goodies every time I come back from the UK.

made of kent

we where told no food item and no alcohol! in the containers, Que, big party with strange concoctions, great night.
In luggage, nothing with meat, or live plants, so OXO is out, Bisto gravy granules in, I never get family and friend's to bring in OXO in, but I did, last time returning to the US pack OXO, I was so tired, the customs guy with the sniffer dog, which was sniffing right next to my OXO! said "mam do you have any food stuff's on you" or something like that, and I weakly pointed at my carry on and said yes! I brought a whole load of stuff in duty free, showing him the placcy bags, full of chocolate, bless, he helped me to the out point at luggage reclaim, and freedom for my OXO!
but don't risk it, the UK is become less tolerate, with stuff, USA! no sense of humour, they are completely non tolerant! and I hate the way the UK is becoming like it!

avanutria

Our shipping company never mentioned it, and it never crossed our minds that dried vegetable matter like tea bags and kitchen spices would be a problem. We tossed the spice bottles in with the rest of our kitchen stuff, and had an entire bag labelled "tea". No problems anywhere.

But if you've got a small amount it might be less hassle to post it to yourself!

lisa67

we were told by our shipping company (but this was 10 years ago!) no liquids and so olive oil would be out.
I can buy large containers (about 10 -15 times the size of a regular jar) of dried herbs, peppercorns etc, etc at Sam's club for about $5 so id there's any doubt don't risk your container being searched (and therefore delayed) for the sake of some dried herbs.
As for tea...just came back from a trip to the UK woth 320 PG tips in freezer bags with the box label stuffed inside the bags so that they're easier to get in my suitcase. My parents always bring stuff like that over...bread sauce if you like it and paxo. You can buy most things over here but they are more expensive

bostonbound

Our shipping company told us we weren't allowed to pack any food so all the non-perishable bits I had left I packed into a cool bag ready to give to my mum. Imagine my horror when I found that I had left the cool bag in the kitchen and the packers went right ahead and boxed it up! I was dreading it coming through customs but it all arrived on Monday with no problems. In fact, I have never been more excited to find gravy granules and tinned tomatoes! (Oh hang on, the excitement might have been superseded by the arrival of my cleaning products - thick bleach - yippee!)

coastieexpat

I live in a very small, remote town on the N.Cal Coast, nearest Safeway is about 70 miles away.

Try these people for Indian food + Birds custard ect..... Spend $75 and the shipping's free. www.ishopindian.com

Mick

tonrob

In a similar vein... Top Tip: Baked beans are easier to transport if you open the tins and pour them into your pockets.

Brat1

Oh crap! Our removal company said we could take all non perishable goods with no problem so I got them to pack the t-bags, bisto granules etc.

With the way my luck has been going, what are the chances that our shipment which is due to arrive at Philadelphia on 9th April will get caught up in customs.

Had planned to chuck the wine when we arrived here, but with the stresses over the last few weeks, I can see me booking into AA shortly. Do they have that here?

lisa67

blargins

Is marmite allowed to be brought in? I've been telling my girlfriend about Marmite and would love to bring some over on my next visit.

Maybe I'll post some out instead.