Crossing the border - food question

[letsgo!]

Hey all! We're headed to WDW in a few weeks, driving for the first time from east GTA, crossing at Peace Bridge. Since we are driving, we were hoping to bring a cooler with lunch foods so we can minimize stopping and spending! Not sure what is and is not allowed - I checked the websites, but they seem a bit wishy-washy and difficult to read through (if anyone has a link to a user-friendly one, I'd love that!)

Thinking of things like - sandwiches (deli meat/cheese/bun/wrap?) hard boiled eggs, trail mix, yogurt, pepperettes, carrot/celery/cucumber, hummus, string cheese

I read that you need to declare everything, I'd just rather not waste $ and effort if items are prohibited and we end up having to toss them.

Thanks in advance!

 

[rewok_new]

Fruits and veggies can be hit and miss if the border guard is a strickler for rules (rule is you should have a label on them to prove where it grew), but usually should be OK in your lunch kit. Do not bring citrus, they are really strict on that. The rest is no trouble.

 

[grantclaire]

I think meat could be a problem.

 

[SteveMouse]

All food products must be declared. Meat, dairy (cheese, yoghurt, etc.) eggs, and fresh produce can be problematic. The main issue is bringing disease into the US. There is some concern about bringing diseases such as avian flu and foot, hand, and mouth disease into the US. Bringing the original package/manufacturing/point of origin information will help you explain to US customs where products came from.

 

[mort1331]

Def no fruit with seeds,,,we were stopped and apples and oranges dumped. They were nice about it and we did not put up a fight,,not worth it.

 

[bankr63]

We cross several times a year with food, in a travel trailer in summer with a fridge full of food, and with a cooler full of road food for our annual trip south to the sun in winter.

Yes, the rules are hard to figure out. I generally use this rule of thumb, no unprocessed/unpasteurized food, especially fruit. We do regularly break that - we bring carrots and celery too and it has never been a problem. We do try to have foods in original packaging. Dairy hasn't been an issue; DW is lactose intolerant and lactose free coffee cream is hard to locate in the US! We usually have a couple of cartons.

We do declare as we cross (hard not too when they know you have a refrigerator in tow). I have yet to be asked to discard anything when crossing, but as PP said, we are prepared to discard anything that is questioned.

 

[csm101]

We were asked once what was in the cooler...They were store bought sandwiches all in original wrapping etc. The agent said I'm ok but he did mention that some of these food might be "questionable" so, after that we didnt bother anymore we just stopped at a Walmart off the interstate, bought a huge sandwich for 7.00 and cut it into pieces.

 

[Lesverts]

In general the rule is, packaged food is ok. Unpackaged/home made/unlabeled food is not.

 

[White Cat]

Hey all! We're headed to WDW in a few weeks, driving for the first time from east GTA, crossing at Peace Bridge. Since we are driving, we were hoping to bring a cooler with lunch foods so we can minimize stopping and spending! Not sure what is and is not allowed - I checked the websites, but they seem a bit wishy-washy and difficult to read through (if anyone has a link to a user-friendly one, I'd love that!)

Thinking of things like - sandwiches (deli meat/cheese/bun/wrap?) hard boiled eggs, trail mix, yogurt, pepperettes, carrot/celery/cucumber, hummus, string cheese

I read that you need to declare everything, I'd just rather not waste $ and effort if items are prohibited and we end up having to toss them.

Thanks in advance!

Thinking if you are east of Toronto wouldn’t Lewiston be a better place to cross. Just wondering.

 

[Aladora]

Hey all! We're headed to WDW in a few weeks, driving for the first time from east GTA, crossing at Peace Bridge. Since we are driving, we were hoping to bring a cooler with lunch foods so we can minimize stopping and spending! Not sure what is and is not allowed - I checked the websites, but they seem a bit wishy-washy and difficult to read through (if anyone has a link to a user-friendly one, I'd love that!)

Thinking of things like - sandwiches (deli meat/cheese/bun/wrap?) hard boiled eggs, trail mix, yogurt, pepperettes, carrot/celery/cucumber, hummus, string cheese

I read that you need to declare everything, I'd just rather not waste $ and effort if items are prohibited and we end up having to toss them.

Thanks in advance!

This site looks to be the most user-friendly.

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/traveling-with-ag-products/traveling-united-states-canada-land-borders

A number of years ago we sailed from Vancouver Island to San Juan Island and since I was worried about the food we were bringing in, I made an exact list of every single consumable item on the boat including amounts and country of origin if known. When we docked at San Juan Island, my husband (who was the captain of the boat) got off with my meticulously written list. I even went so far as to amend the amounts as we ate things during the sail there. The customs agent spent a good while laughing and said that he had never seen someone be so exact before!

But, it was helpful to know that tomatoes are completely prohibited as are all citrus.

 

[Frank4202]

I live in a border city and cross regularly, I was actually over yesterday in Detroit.

Fruit is a definite nope so don't try.

Depending on the agent, they could give you a hard time on meats and vegetables. The best way to avoid it is to bring purchased items and nothing homemade which kind of defeats the savings. Just be sure to declare everything and be honest.

 

[iceprincesskcl]

We drive down every year, we have a plug in cooler, we bring yogurt, egg salad sandwiches, ham sandwiches, small snacks and then once we cross the border will stop at a sams club/walmart to get fruit!

 

[bcwife76]

It's interesting that some people have been able to cross over with meat...in sandwiches no less....and no problem. I guess sometimes it really 'does depend on the border guard you get.' Years ago (like 15) we were going down to Oregon camping and had our dog with us. While we hardly had any 'human' food with us (buying it down there) they actually took our open bag of dry dog food and dumped it out because it contained meat.....I swear, our poor dog was watching the guard the whole time and pouting at them as they threw the food away! Since then we never bring any food across that could remotely be considered as banned/not allowed and just shop in the US after we cross. Meahwhile, I'll come home to Canada after a full grocery shop with hot dogs, bacon, hamburgers etc and the border guards are like "cool, did you buy any booze?"

 

[ellbell]

I find the border guards all over the place most days. I've gone across with a cooler full of sandwiches and a pack of precut apples and the guard didn't bat an eye and come back with basic groceries and been pulled for inspection and told to pay duty. One time with my receipts I paid duty on everything but my walmart order because the guard didn't want to sort the groceries out and another I paid duty on the groceries that should have been duty free.

It's really like a game of roulette. My theory is don't cross with anything you aren't willing to dispose of, be prepared to pay duty down to the penny and keep all receipts.

There isn't much you can do except follow their instructions. It's not like you can argue. Even if they make up rules and apply them arbitrarily.

 

[White Cat]

It's interesting that some people have been able to cross over with meat...in sandwiches no less....and no problem. I guess sometimes it really 'does depend on the border guard you get.' Years ago (like 15) we were going down to Oregon camping and had our dog with us. While we hardly had any 'human' food with us (buying it down there) they actually took our open bag of dry dog food and dumped it out because it contained meat.....I swear, our poor dog was watching the guard the whole time and pouting at them as they threw the food away! Since then we never bring any food across that could remotely be considered as banned/not allowed and just shop in the US after we cross. Meahwhile, I'll come home to Canada after a full grocery shop with hot dogs, bacon, hamburgers etc and the border guards are like "cool, did you buy any booze?"

Interesting. We bring dog food back and forth all the time and have never been asked about it.

 

[momof2gr8kids]

Hey all! We're headed to WDW in a few weeks, driving for the first time from east GTA, crossing at Peace Bridge. Since we are driving, we were hoping to bring a cooler with lunch foods so we can minimize stopping and spending! Not sure what is and is not allowed - I checked the websites, but they seem a bit wishy-washy and difficult to read through (if anyone has a link to a user-friendly one, I'd love that!)

Thinking of things like - sandwiches (deli meat/cheese/bun/wrap?) hard boiled eggs, trail mix, yogurt, pepperettes, carrot/celery/cucumber, hummus, string cheese

I read that you need to declare everything, I'd just rather not waste $ and effort if items are prohibited and we end up having to toss them.

Thanks in advance!

We travel across the border often and always with food. I've only had tomatoes (citrus) taken from me. Usually any pre cooked meats aren't an issue - so you should be ok with lunch meat, pepperettes, etc. What we have done because everyone likes different things on their sandwiches, is just pack the fixings separately and assemble when we stop for a break at a rest stop. That way if they decide they need to take away ham that day, you don't have to give up your whole sandwich.

I always pack hard boiled eggs too, have never had a problem. I've brought apples and mini carrots, but still in the bag and usually they are from the usa.

 

[DisneyRookie2007]

We travel to Florida by car every Autumn. We pack a cooler full of food for our trip and don't eat in restaurants. We usually eat chicken salad sandwiches and the occasional tuna sandwich, and we have those prepped in advance. We don't pack any fruits or veggies until we cross the border in the USA. I make sure I only answer the crossing guards questions and don't volunteer any additional info. If they ask what food we're bringing, we tell them. The cooler is in plain sight for the agent to see. We've never has any issues.

 

[Aladora]

It's interesting that some people have been able to cross over with meat...in sandwiches no less....and no problem. I guess sometimes it really 'does depend on the border guard you get.' Years ago (like 15) we were going down to Oregon camping and had our dog with us. While we hardly had any 'human' food with us (buying it down there) they actually took our open bag of dry dog food and dumped it out because it contained meat.....I swear, our poor dog was watching the guard the whole time and pouting at them as they threw the food away! Since then we never bring any food across that could remotely be considered as banned/not allowed and just shop in the US after we cross. Meahwhile, I'll come home to Canada after a full grocery shop with hot dogs, bacon, hamburgers etc and the border guards are like "cool, did you buy any booze?"

They dumped the dog food because it was open, not because it had meat.

Travelers may bring back pet food, chews, and treats from Canada under the following conditions:

• The items must be in unopened retail packaging.
• Raw (not shelf-stable without refrigeration), dehydrated, freeze-dried, or sun-dried items must be labeled as a product of Canada or the United States.

 

[bcwife76]

They dumped the dog food because it was open, not because it had meat.

Oh haha yes you are right! Although he did mention something about it being dried meat as well but yes it was open. Lost our fave dog food scoop at the time too

 

[DisneyRookie2007]

We travel to Florida by car every Autumn. We pack a cooler full of food for our trip and don't eat in restaurants. We usually eat chicken salad sandwiches and the occasional tuna sandwich, and we have those prepped in advance. We don't pack any fruits or veggies until we cross the border in the USA. I make sure I only answer the crossing guards questions and don't volunteer any additional info. If they ask what food we're bringing, we tell them. The cooler is in plain sight for the agent to see. We've never has any issues.

I'll add that we were also travelling with our cat. We had an opened bag of dry food as well as an open can of wet food when we crossed into the US. They made no fuss about the cat, asked for no paperwork either (although we did have the rabies vaccination certificate handy, just in case).