Carlux

Our friends always take foie gras back to Canada - and never thought to declare it as 'meat' because it was in a tin. Turns out it is allowed, but you should declare it. They had a nasty moment when their bags were checked and they were accused of making a false declaration. It was the false declaration that was the problem, not what they are carrying. Now they always declare.

kerouac

So that makes me the biggest criminal here?

But I am <i>really</i> good at playing stupid.

ekscrunchy

You may be the biggest, but you are not the lone food sneak here. Just guessing, of course.

BigBlue

Great input for which I thank you all. Has anyone brought in tinned duck confit (legs and thighs)? Granted, the tins are much larger but, boy, are they delicious! My guess is most wouldn't bother because of the size. However, with the experiences described above, they would seem to meet the criteria currently being employed.

There lots of people in our society who think nothing of scoffing at all sorts of laws and seem to take a great deal of pride in doing so. My guess is that is just one of many factors contributing to the number of laws we have on the books and why we have so many of the problems we do.

alohatoall

We often bring back cans of confit as well as foie gras and always declare them, since the penalty for undeclared goods can be quite stiff, as Carlux points out. Occasionally we have to go through agricultural inspection (more often at DFW than at ORD), but we've never lost our precious cargo.

jpie

I have brought confit a number of times into LAX as well as canned cassoulet without a problem. I just stay away from anything in glass.

BigBlue

We arrived back at Dulles from CDG on Saturday, October 23, 2010, and declared the three tins of foie gras de canard we had bought in Sarlat. The Ag Inspector looked at the cans, read their labels closely, and waved us through.

Thanks to all for your assistance.

FlyFish

Came back last month with several cans of foie gras entier and about 6 lbs. of Papillon roquefort and put both right on the form. The immigration officer asked if the cheese was "hard," to which I replied "yes, sort of." He said that it would be fine and never asked about the foie (didn't know that food was part of their job or that they even cared - I always assumed they only cared about passports and the like) and then he wrote a few letters on the back of the form and circled them. When we got to customs/agriculture the guy hesitated for a second when he saw that I'd checked "food" on the front, then turned the card over, apparently saw the marks on it, and just waived us through. I bring [mostly] legal food products back all the time, but never had this sort of experience before.

lincasanova

A friend had four cans of paté taken from her. Not sure if it was duck and pork, or duck and beef or pure duck.
a bit disappointing.

I have taken some in but I admit I never have declared it.Never really thought about declaring it before this thread.

TDudette

Big Blue, I'm so glad for you.

I had a delectable fois gras in Lyon that just melted away before I could eat it all. To not be able to bring some home would be a sin.

seafox

BIG Blue - thanks for the update.

iris1745

Last night at The Wenthworth by the Sea in NH, I has foie gras that melted away, as Td describes the experience. www.hudsonvalleyfoiegras.com/shop.html

Michael

Will U.S. Customs apply state laws as they did (do they still?) with liquor? Does that mean that CA residents will not be able to bring back foie gras once the ban on sale and importation of it goes into effect?

seafox

So, I just webnt through customs and ag with foi gras. I did not check the meat section front (because it is canned and not fresh) as I had been intsructed a few years ago by an ag guy. I listed fois gras on the back and pointed it out to immigartion, both immigration and ag. were OK with it....and we'll be enjoying the fois gras at Thanksgiving.

La_Tour_de_Cause

This is a little late, but thought I'd add something. I flew from France to California via Heathrow about 18 months ago, and had the canned foie gras, cou de canard farci, and canned paté (with pork meat) in my carry-on. My main bag was already checked; it was at security that they wouldn't permit these items. They gave me a choice -- confiscation, or pay an extra $50 and check the carry-on. I paid the $50, grabbed my book, purse and headphones, and checked the foie gras satchel. Cost me more money, but it was worth it! So -- for me, it was an issue of carry-on vs. checked bags, not an issue of legal import. The security gal said foie gras was too much like a paste to be allowed.

Gretchen

Well, that is "news you can use", and your final sentence is the explanation--it's like a "gel" and can't be more that 3 oz. Thanks, although I always just put it in my luggage. And the $50 would definitely be worth it!! Thanks.

Rosiekins

We visited the Dordogne area in May 2010 - land of foie gras - and brought back 10 small tins of foie gras. I packed them in my small camera bag (put the camera in my purse). Going through security at Charles de Gaulle airport, I was told they needed to inspect my small suitcase where the foie gras was located. Apparently the small cans resembled "bombs", so they were happily surprised to see it was only foie gras. They looked at us quizzically and my husband responded: We have lots of friends. We flew into Charlotte, NC, and we had no problems there with Customs. Yes, we declared the food on our Customs form, and our friends enjoyed their gifts!