Strange packing question

[chelseabun76]

Ok, so travelling from Canada to US, is there anything saying we can't put a box of dry cereal in our suitcase? LOL! We're only doing the ddp and are using snack credits for muffins @ breaky, but just thinking.... my dd might want something else some mornings and would rather not pay OOP too much

 

[ixmnrs]

Ok, so travelling from Canada to US, is there anything saying we can't put a box of dry cereal in our suitcase? LOL! We're only doing the ddp and are using snack credits for muffins @ breaky, but just thinking.... my dd might want something else some mornings and would rather not pay OOP too much

Now, this may not apply to you, but we went last year to DW and we usually go through US customs in Toronto but with our NEXUS / Global Entry. My daughter was randomly selected for a check and they found some candy in her bag and some gum. Well, the customs officer said that we didn't declare that we were bringing over any food (we answered no to all the questions on the form), yet she had candy / gum (i.e. food...you ingest it don't you? was how he put it) We almost lost her Nexus card that day because of that.'
Long story short, if you are bringing over any prepackaged food, you may have to declare it on that customs sheet...

 

[smashing]

We had one suitcase full of food. Mainly snacks, cereal, instant oatmeal and individual juice containers. I had no idea this stuff had to be declared and we were never asked about food.

 

[ccudmore]

Just answer Yes to question 11A and you'll be okay.

 

[chelseabun76]

So as long as I declare it on the form, and they happen to want to take it out, it's not a big deal right? We're just out one box of cereal? lol

 

[bankr63]

Declare it, but they will let it pass. The only foods they stop are those that have import restrictions due to agricultural/disease concerns. That includes a lot of fresh fruit or vegetables and some fresh meat. They are fine with pretty much all processed packaged foods including meats. We bring a lot of food for our Celiac son, including a "safe" brand of sausages. We have declared, they have inspected the meat items, and passed them every time as long as they are in the original sealed packaging.

 

[Lanie]

We got beef jerky confiscated once... But I think the officer just wanted a snack!

We have been bringing pop-tarts and mini-cereal boxes for years without any problems.

 

[Susan2771]

Now, this may not apply to you, but we went last year to DW and we usually go through US customs in Toronto but with our NEXUS / Global Entry. My daughter was randomly selected for a check and they found some candy in her bag and some gum. Well, the customs officer said that we didn't declare that we were bringing over any food (we answered no to all the questions on the form), yet she had candy / gum (i.e. food...you ingest it don't you? was how he put it) We almost lost her Nexus card that day because of that.'
Long story short, if you are bringing over any prepackaged food, you may have to declare it on that customs sheet...

Jeepers thanks so much for sharing this. We also have Nexus and never thought we could lose it because of something like that. Would hate to say good bye to Nexus because our girls have a box of Smarties in a bag.

 

[chelseabun76]

Great! Thanks for the info, I'm going to for sure

 

[Sunshine25]

We brought 4 boxes of Fruity & Cocoa pebbles in our carry on's

 

[sprmom]

No food at all when travelling with Nexus. We have Nexus for ourselves and two daughters and I asked about a cereal bar we had, the officer said ANY food may land you in the "interview room" and he said "no one wants to be there", out went the cereal bar. . Nexus equals no food. Not worth it, either on the way down or back home.

 

[hcortesis]

No food at all when travelling with Nexus. We have Nexus for ourselves and two daughters and I asked about a cereal bar we had, the officer said ANY food may land you in the "interview room" and he said "no one wants to be there", out went the cereal bar. . Nexus equals no food. Not worth it, either on the way down or back home.

Nexus cardholders here also. There shouldn't be an issue as long as it is declared. You may have to leave the food behind, probably not. The real issue with Nexus is since you are a "Trusted Traveller", you don't want to be caught lying on your form.

We have been to "secondary" a few times. Usually just a five minute or so ordeal.

 

[chelseabun76]

We are not Nexus cardholders, and I most definately will declare. I went over the allowable foods on the list online and dry cereal is on it so hopefully all shall be good!

 

[Tilnar]

My parents brought hot cereal/instant oatmeal, peanut butter, crackers, granola bars -- basically a whole small suitcase of 'breakfast' stuff -- and had no problems with customs -- they marked "yes" on the form, and when asked (because indicating "yes" does lead to a question), they just said that they had several breakfast things -- all sealed pre-packaged food -- and were waved through. (They're primarily worried about fresh fruits and the like)

 

[chelseabun76]

My parents brought hot cereal/instant oatmeal, peanut butter, crackers, granola bars -- basically a whole small suitcase of 'breakfast' stuff -- and had no problems with customs -- they marked "yes" on the form, and when asked (because indicating "yes" does lead to a question), they just said that they had several breakfast things -- all sealed pre-packaged food -- and were waved through. (They're primarily worried about fresh fruits and the like)

Great! This will definately make our mornings so much easier if we can just eat in our rooms before heading out and save our snacks for fun stuff at the parks!

 

[Tilnar]

From what I was told, stressing the "pre-packaged" thing really helped.

 

[MaryannF]

DD and I flew to California (DL) last year and took some prepackaged granola bars to eat on the early morning flight. I guess I have never looked at that form very closely as I never even thought about saying yes to that question as I didn't think these fit into any of the categories. It seems strange that food (very broad category in itself) is stuck on line 11a between seeds and insects. I think my eyes have skimmed that line several times before and never really read the word food as I knew I didn't have any fruits, vegetables, plants seeds and insects. I also have a problem with the suggestion that gum is food. I'm sure many, many travelers carry gum on a plane to deal with ear problems when taking off and landing. I wonder how many people say yes to 11a for the gum in their pocket? I'll certainly be more careful in the future.