Has anyone had any problems at US customs taking down snacks?

[GoingtoDW]

Hi Everyone,

We have 2 little boys, and we would like to take down some packaged snacks to keep them busy on the plane, and for in between meals at the parks. The US customs website is quite vaque on what foods are admissable. Has anyone had a problem with any of the following products?

granola bars
yogurt bars
fruit snacks
nutri grain fruit bars
fruit source bars
fruit roll-ups
cookies (Teddy Grahams, Chips Ahoy, Animal Crackers)
Crystal Light powdered juice

I know they don't allow fruit, but is that only fresh fruit, or will it apply to some of the fruit bars?

Also, has anyone had a problem taking down Childrens Tylenol, or Children's Cough Medicine?

 

[CharlesTD]

You should be ok but make sure the fruitbars are out of sight we brought a bag of oranges back from Florida with us we just tossed them under a blanket out of sight out of mind.

 

[Torontogal]

Thanks for asking this. We are travelling by plane in March with 2 boys. I too am worried about the snack thing - not just for the flight but I need snacks for the resort BWV. Since we are not renting a car - we will not be able to drive to a grocery store. I know there is a delivery service at BWV but they seem very limited. I do not mind purchasing some items such as milk, yogurt. Do you think I can pack a box of Mac/cheese, pretzels, oreos, cereal bars, etc. and check it in? We are using Magic Express so they can deliver to resort. Who can I call to get more information???

 

[mbb]

well, actually the kids are - about "what snacks did Mommy pack??"

As long as they're packaged/sealed (the snacks, not the kids ) like cereal bars and the like..we've always been fine.

Torontogal, you'll be able to pick all of those things up in the resort gift shop - we were impressed with the selection available.

Your other options are www.wegoshop.com , or bring it with you, or grab a cab from DTD, head for Goodings or Publix -$10 or $15 cab rideO/W?? - and back.

HTH!!

 

[nerdy_grrl_t]

The only thing they may confiscate is fresh fruit and meat. I haven't found they really check this out though... you will probably be fine.

 

[dsneygirl]

I agree the only concern will be fresh fruit and/or meat. Pre packaged snacks will not be a problem. I would think Oreos might not survive the trip in the best condition though

 

[Scratch42]

I usually bring full meals with us depending on our flight times.

Word of Caution ~ Ice Cream does not travel well!

janet

 

[striker3636]

You should be fine with anything packaged. Milk products are ok. The big no-no is anything with beef, so be careful if you bring a sandwich or jerky sticks. Here is a link (I hope this works ok) that I just found this week. We are driving down with our camper and plan on bringing food with us.


http://help.customs.gov/cgi-bin/customs.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=82&p_created=1043364936&p_sid=R*h4S5Mh&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD01NDgmcF9wcm9kcz0mcF9jYXRzPSZwX3B2PSZwX2N2PSZwX3BhZ2U9MQ**&p_li=&p_topview=1

Hope that helps!

 

[digskat]

I'd make sure they are peanut free snacks. I don't have kids with allergies but always pack peanut free for school etc, to be considerate of those that may have.

 

[KerriMc]

Like everyone else said, prepackaged snacks are fine. The fruit bars aren't fresh fruit, so they aren't any danger to their country (as in they don't carry any bugs that might endanger any of their homegrown produce!!). I did hate the fact that I couldn't bring a banana for my youngest, which she would have eaten in flight, but those are the darn rules!

The only problem we had was an arrogant US customs officer (which is fairly common I have noticed at Pearson Airport ). Anyways, she asked us what kind of food we were carrying and we said snacks and she sneered "Like what???". So we told her granola bars, muffins, cookies, juice boxes, gum, and jubes. She looked at me like I had just spoken gibberish and again barked at me saying "What are jubes????". My 3 yr old daughter is standing there and looking at this big woman with her mouth open. Me (feeling like I'm doing something wrong) am trying to explain jubes and she rolls her eyes at me and again sneers "oh ... you mean candy!!". Well for crying out loud, I was just trying to tell her exactly what I had, but next time I will just say CANDY!!!!

Kerri


Other than that, you will be fine.

 

[pxlbarrel]

LOL....she wanted you to be specific but not so specific as to highlight her ignorance.

We've been lucky with Pearson....they didn't ask us about food at all and my mom had a bag full of turkey sandwiches and apples and pears in her carry-on. (Oh...we weren't intending to smuggle contraband fruit into the U.S. ... we ate everything before we boarded the plane.)

So, they didn't ask and we didn't tell. The guy even wished me a Happy Birthday (my birthday was just over a week away)