Tour of Customs?

In this thread I learned there is the possibility of a conducted tour at Customs. The tour would include how they process people, their laboratories as well as their rogues gallery of confiscated stuff. For me, it would an interesting opportunity to not only learn more about the parameters of what foods one can and cannot import. It's learning why these goods are prohibited that grabs my attention.

If there is an interest in a conducted tour of Customs, then please comment here. If it is more than just me-myself-and-I, then I will contact them and set a date.

Hi Cathy,

I'm kind of intrigued. Where would the tour take place? at O'Hare?

I'd be interested, especially if they're aware we're more food-interested.

With a boss a couple of weeks away from maternity leave, I can't guarantee I can come (I understand this would necessarily be a worktime excursion), but we'll still have some flexibility -- please lightly pencil me in and I can plan better once a date and time have been set.

I am new to the forum. Peeked at posts for several months and finnally became a member. When my sister lived in Scotland I would always bring back smoked salmon and trout. Never knew if it was legal or not. Wrapped it with many layers of newspapers and stuffed it all into its own suitcase. Once the drug doggie at O'Hare was interested but nobody asked me to open the case. This was before 9 11. My husband and I are going to Ukraine this summer and find a tour like this very interesting.
I am judyd and plan to go if it fits in.

Hi,

I am pleased that it is not just Cathy who'd like to go! I will certainly emphasize the foodie aspect.

Continue to participate in the poll while I contact Customs about this tour. It will be some feedback of interest.

Thanks again for your interest.

Regards,

We would be very interested, but after March 24, since we will be out of town for 2 weeks or so.

Cathy -

Pencil me in, too. Sounds very interesting!

I would also be interested, depending on the day and time. There may be two of us.

Cathy, we (my husband, aka unbeknowneth, and I) would certainly be interested. Sounds like an interesting time, food-related or not.

By the way, I wanted to let you know that when I first read the title of this thread, I thought it was referring to some sort of "tour" through the food customs of ethnic foods. Ever since I was told by a Korean friend that it was extremely rude to pick up my bowl from the table, and that was the reason Korean spoons have such a long handle (still not sure if this is true - can anyone confirm?), I've been really interested in getting to know more about the social customs that govern food preparation and consumption in other cultures. I don't want to hijack this thread, but I thought I'd throw that out there and see if there was any interest.

I'm down with it.

Mike

Brilliant idea.

Eager to see behind the curtain,

Soupcon

Cathy,

Are you still thinking about setting up this tour of customs?

Your neighbor,
Jesper

HI,

I didn't realize when I proposed this, my contact was going to be out-of-office on special training. He returned and I am now completing information for their review, which is really an explanation of what we are and why we are interested.

If and when it is approved, then I will advise. Whatever the outcome, you will know when I know.

Regards,

Monica Eng, busted by Customs at O'Hare trying to sneak a Spanish ham through, recounts her experiences. Free to registered Tribune site users for a week (through 5/31).

I would love to find out what I can and cannot bring into the US. I'm tired of sweating bullets each and everytime, even when all I have are suitcase full of chocolate and of course, laundry.

Thank you, Cathy.

Believe it or not, I am making baby steps all the time toward organizing this tour. So far nobody has said no, but then again nobody has set a date yet either!

Regards,

Well, the poll aspect is a bit strange, since people who do not want to participate are unlikely to vote, but I am interested.

Not to get political or anything, c2, but in the current era of post-911 governmental paranoia, I wonder if this is really likely to be given a green light. You might be a terrorist trying to figure out how to smuggle in air-cured hams or unpasteurized cheeses to the detriment of... heck, I don't know but I do know we need to be protected from potential instruments of mass nourishment !

More seriously, I think this page will link you to what items are prohibitied for importation http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg/prohibited_restricted.xml

Not only will it give you a general idea of what is restricted, but it will direct you to the web sites of those agencies responsible for deciding what is and is not permissible, where you can get the excruciating details. All meat products are forbidden, and anything that includes a meat product is prohibited. Any plant or fresh produce without certification, such as you can get in the Netherlands for tulip bulbs, is prohibited (which means the USDA inspected it, I think). Etc, etc.

Having said that, I think that Customs operates off a hit list of items to watch for, and any other food items would only be caught inadvertently in the pursuit of something else (when I was 16, I returned from France with a few bottles of wine - because of how I looked, I suppose, I got taken off into a room, my bag unpacked, my clothes inspected closely, and a lot of questions asked. During this process, my bottles of wine became apparent. They were carefully repacked and nothing said about them, tho I am pretty sure 16 year-olds are not permitted to import alcoholic beverages in any quantity. Or it could be they were just looking for drug smugglers and once it became clear I was not one, they just wanted to make sure I left happy.)

I have no idea what those items are, and am not suggesting anyone import anything illegal, but I do know they really focus on chunks of meat raw or processed, plants, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Lastly, it was my impression that some of the dogs noted above are in fact trained to identify contrband foodstuffs, not drugs. Seems to me I saw this on some animal TV show a while back.

I hope this is of some use to some of you.