A friend of mine arriving in the US forgot they had a sandwich on them they had purchased at an overseas airport
This sandwich had bacon in it which I guess should not be brought into the country, they told the CBP officer when asked about food products about this and were directed to secondary screening in a separate room
There they were informed / reminded that this is one of the foods that can’t be brought in to the country, it was a very polite and friendly conversation, no financial penalty or fine was imposed, the offending sandwich was just thrown away and they were free to go
The CBP officer in secondary screening did record their passport info however, can my friend expect increased scrutiny or other issues in the future with Customs or other agencies when arriving in the US from other countries?
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US Customs question
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Re: US Customs question
I suspect it would i be so if he did it again he would not be let off so lightly. A fine would probably be imposed or whatever the penalties did are.
Re: US Customs question
Had a colleague accidentally have some sort of fruit in their carry on bag. They seemed to face automatic secondary inspection afterward for quite some time.
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Re: US Customs question
Habit; always take food I purchase on flights to the US - leave them in a SEPARATE bag (e.g plastic bag, etc) once I'm seated and NEVER put them back in my main carry on EVER - prevents this entirely. Have had plenty of coworkers busted over the years, two fined for being second incidents. Most of the time it was an apple or other fruit.
Packaged candy/chips, etc NEVER is a problem
Packaged candy/chips, etc NEVER is a problem
Re: US Customs question
Max Q wrote:they told the CBP officer when asked about food products about this and were directed to secondary screening in a separate room
If the interaction was this:
CBP: Do you have any food on you to declare?
Pax: Yeah, this sandwich.
CBP: oh, that's a problem - go over there to secondary inspection
In other words, if the pax 'fessed up' when asked instead of attempting to hide it, then I would not be terribly concerned. There's nothing wrong with having a hamburger on you so long as you tell them about it when asked.
This is not like someone I know who did not declare their food...and then drug dogs sniffed out the grilled beef that was in their luggage (seriously - grilled beef). They were sternly told not to do this again and have faced secondary screening most of the time since then.
Obviously, this is US CBP we're talking about, so it's all rather unpredictable, and if your friend is not a white man, that may change things. But generally, I wouldn't be concerned about a situation where something was properly declared and disposed of.
Re: US Customs question
alo2yyz wrote:Max Q wrote:they told the CBP officer when asked about food products about this and were directed to secondary screening in a separate room
If the interaction was this:
CBP: Do you have any food on you to declare?
Pax: Yeah, this sandwich.
CBP: oh, that's a problem - go over there to secondary inspection
In other words, if the pax 'fessed up' when asked instead of attempting to hide it, then I would not be terribly concerned. There's nothing wrong with having a hamburger on you so long as you tell them about it when asked.
This is not like someone I know who did not declare their food...and then drug dogs sniffed out the grilled beef that was in their luggage (seriously - grilled beef). They were sternly told not to do this again and have faced secondary screening most of the time since then.
Obviously, this is US CBP we're talking about, so it's all rather unpredictable, and if your friend is not a white man, that may change things. But generally, I wouldn't be concerned about a situation where something was properly declared and disposed of.
I’ve had multiple CBP officers tell me that close calls on food about which the passenger is honest aren’t a big deal. In fact I remember telling an officer at YYZ that I had purposefully not bought something (non-produce food) to avoid an issue being told I should have bought it and let them figure out a way to admit it. It’s a similar situation if you are subject to duty. Own up, pay it, and move on.
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Re: US Customs question
Max Q wrote:The CBP officer in secondary screening did record their passport info however, can my friend expect increased scrutiny or other issues in the future with Customs or other agencies when arriving in the US from other countries?
Friend can expect to be questioned next time at a US checkpoint. But in all likelihood chances are very low. Tell friend to relax.
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