Brigette Bardot would hate me if she knew I am hoping to bring home some pate de fois gras to California. My home county, Sonoma, has just outlawed it as of next year, as cruel to the geese, but I am hooked and will probably have to spend a century in purgatory for it. What I need to know is if it is legal to bring it in, and in what form. I'm just talking a few tins or jars. Anyone really know the facts? thanks.

We also got hooked on foie gras when we were there 2 months ago. We brought 2 tins of foie gras back to the US without running into any problems. Our families absolutely love foie gras, too.

According to Patricia Well's "Food Lover's Guide to Paris" (I highly highly recommend this book, btw), foie gras that can legally enter the United States is generally marked "foie gras de conserve" (it has been sterilised by being cooked at a 230 Farenheit (110 Celsius).

Hope this helps!

We bring it back in tins..I think there is some restriction on bringing it back in glass jars.

We brought it back in tins as well. As it is a meat product, which requires one to fill the custom form out indicating such, the customs folks were ok with it.

There was a inspection dog that passed over our cans but when right after a womens half eaten sandwich, which she was made to through out.

However,it did not stop them from rifling through our bags. One fellow in particular seemed to enjoy messing up our belongings.

We also brought back an assortment of french cheese that was placed in vacuum packed bags. This was passed as well.

Enjoy your goodies!

On that note, we'll be in Paris this June. Where would you all recommend finding tins of pate? The local Monoprix? Any other food stores?

The Fauchon in NYC charges $75 to $85 for a tin of their foie gras! I'm hoping to get a decent deal in Paris, though...

Thanks for your help!

You can get foie gras at the Monoprix. There is also a wonderful dealer at the Pl. Monge market on Sunday. He takes VISA!! I also got some at Galeries Lafayette in October. For the best kind get tins marked "entier". This is the whole liver, no filler.

Hi hum,

Apparently foie gras is not considered "meat" and can be brought into the US.

Foie gras and pate de foie gras in tins or vacuum sealed are OK.

Glass jars are not OK.

To be quite honest, I never declare food and take back what I like. The one and only time I declared they gave me such and incredibly hard time with going through all my luggage that I vowed I would never do it again. I dont bring back any fresh food but do bring anything that is canned, glass or metal, as well as cookies, chocolates etc.

Bonjour,

Since you are not allowed to bring back "foie gras entier de canard" ou "d'oie" in glass jars, you can't choose the best ones which are called "mi-cuits". Yet, you can buy the whole duck or geese foie gras sold in tins, thus I'd advise you to find a "Comtesse du Barry" shop in Paris, the quality of their foies gras, which only come from ducks or geese bred in the south-west of France, is excellent. This firm was founded in 1908... Here is their web site (in English) :

http://www.comtessedubarry.com/engli...&id_prod=4

"-Whole duck foie gras

Whole foie gras is in fact all or part of a single liver that is trimmed, seasoned and preserved as it is.
Although the livers are rigourously selected, they always release a certain amount of fat during cooking. The gourmet accepts this and bears it in mind when deciding the quantity required." (You can use the fat to fry some "pommes de terres" and cook "des pommes de terre sautées"...)

Here is a list of their shops in Paris :

http://www.comtessedubarry.com/engli...e=1&zone=1

The firm "Comtesse du Barry" won several awards this winter, among which golden medals for its "foie gras d'oie entier traditionnel" and "foie gras entier de canard mi-cuit présenté en bocal" (sold in jars) :

http://www.observatoiredelafranchise...re=177&o=f

"COMTESSE DU BARRY - 05 Mars 2004

Un "plus" important pour les franchisés et magasins de l'enseigne. La qualité des foies gras Comtesse du Barry a été primée au "Concours Général Agricole 2004":

- La Médaille d'Or pour le foie gras d'oie entier traditionnel.

- La Médaille d'Or pour le foie gras entier de canard mi-cuit présenté en bocal

- La Médaille d'Argent pour le foie gras d'oie entier mi cuit emballé sous vide (NB : dans cette catégorie, le jury n'a pas attribué de médaille d'Or)."

Of course, you can buy their products online :

http://www.comtessedubarry.com/engli...=8&Id_ss=4

The other firm which sells excellent foie gras is "Pierre Champion". We love their "foie gras de canard mi-cuit au torchon". So if you see their products, you can buy them without worrying about their quality. They are sold in some shops (we've got one in Rouen) but I can't find the list since the firm seems to have been bought by a bigger group...

Never buy products which have not been given the "appellation" "bloc de foie gras de canard" or "d'oie" or "foie gras entier de canard" ou "d'oie".... So avoid products called "parfaits" or else...

Voilà ! Bonne dégustation ! Marie

You can bring foie gras into the USA as long as it is in a sealed tin with a "proper" (i.e., commercial) label. If I bring back my neighbor's tinned foie gras, the Ag people swipe it. If I bring in Rougié or Godard, they don't care.

I have brought it back in tins several times. I do not specifically declaire it. I declare "souveniers" which should I be questioned is a loose interpretation. I pack it into my checked bags inside my shoues for "protection".

Marie oo7: Thanks for all that great information! Budman mentioned a great shop on Ile St. Louis -- perhaps they sell the Comtesse brand?

Best regards.

I brought some back for a friend - bought it in the market in Cannes. The vendor said there would be no problems in bringing back pastureized (in tins).

I bought several cans at the duty free shop at CDG before our flight home. I just assumed it was ok to bring back and I did not declare it.

I originally thought this post was a joke, or posted by a troll, because of the use of the screen name humanone. To be humane is to be "characterized by kindness, mercy, or compassion."
I strongly believe that if people understood fois gras production most would choose not to eat it. I'm not going to get graphic but I strongly urge people to take the time to educate themselves. I do appreciate that fois gras is a delicious food - before I understood the ramifications of what I was eating I loved it! - but I can't help but think this is a line a thoughtful person would choose not to cross.
All I ask is that you understand the consequences of your actions. The production of fois gras is cruel. If you still choose to eat it, that's your decision.
http://www.hsus.org/farm_animals/fac...foie_gras.html
So, let the flagellation begin...

In my opinion, the stuff you get in tins, is nothing like the mi-cuit you buy in France, or the "raw" livers (read Patricia Wells' comments about eating raw liver) from Sonoma or Hudson valley. I stopped buying & eating the canned stuff a long time ago.

I thought the ban in Calif didn't go into effect for a few years, but I'm not real sure. I plan to buy a bunch of Hudson or Sonoma raw foie gras & freeze it just before it does. At 3:00 today, I'm going to a sale at "Village Imports/Made in France" (importer just south of San Francisco) to buy some raw foie gras.

There is a foie gras restaurant on the Place Madeleine where I had mi-cuit foie gras & Sauterne for lunch this past Sept.

Stu Dudley
San Mateo, Ca

I was under the impression that the ban in CA did not go into effect until 2012. I too have stopped eating pate de fois gras after becoming educated regarding the hard cold facts. And I did love it so!

Thanks for the lecture, BatChick. I read it, I've seen it, and I still choose to eat it.

I'd agree that there is no comparison between anything in a can and the "fresh" version. But I don't understand the big deal. You can buy cans of the imported stuff in almost any upscale food shop in the US, can't you?

They have a good selection of all forms of foie gras in the gourmet food store section, La Grande Epicerie, of Bon Marche dept. store (it's right next to it in the 7th arr.). The good quality, even in tins, is not cheap, though. Of course, you can also look at Hediard's or the gourmet food section of Galleries Lafayette store, as well as Fauchon.

StuDudley,

Do you remember the name of the place where you had the "mi-cuit foie gras & Sauterne"?

Going to Paris in June.

Thanks!