Allowable limits at US Customs - Help!

While the limit customs free is one bottle generally they don't bother taxing bottles you bring in with you; even a case in the luggage is unlikely to be taxed. Of course you declare it and if it should be taxed, pay it -- but I know many people who have done it without being taxed.

Cheese and meats -- hard to say. Sausage is unlikely to be allowed. The only time we were ever hassled was when we brought back commercially canned duck. They finally let us keep it after a thorough luggage search -- only time since 1961 on the docks of New York that I have been searched at entry. Pork products are less likely to be approved. I would bet that vacuum sealed meat would be confiscated.

I would not bet on being allowed to bring back cheese. In the late 1990s or the summer 2001 trip, I went to France as well as Poland, Germany, indicated that info on the Immigration/customs card at SFO. When the guy saw France listed as places visited, he asked me if I brought anything back re food stuff, . I said ," no" . Then he said "fromage?" Upon hearing that, I thought after having said "no" to his first question: "you trying to show off your French to me?." So, to "fromage" I said "no" again. Then I was passed through. Had I had the cheese, I'm sure it would have been confiscated.

One liter of alcohol. Any more and you have to declare it. They may or may not charge you. However, make sure you know your state's law regarding importation of alcohol. The CBP enforces limits based on states law.

Meat--no
Cheese--probably

The maximum you can bring in is $800 before you have to pay custom's duties.

This webpage may help: What food can you bring into the country

A lot of hard cheeses are OK, though I haven't checked on the packaging requirements. I think you'll find that fresh/unpasteurized cheeses are not acceptable at all. Meats are also dicey. Be very cautious about this, as you can waste a lot of money on goods that will be confiscated. You may be given misinformation (probably honestly in may cases) by people selling the products. Remember that what they say doesn't matter at all; the only thing that counts is what the customs officer decides.

We brought back cheese- a lot of it. The sniffer dogs in customs found it so we pulled it out and showed them. They had no problem letting us bring it in.
We always bring back alcohol too. Whiskey (Ireland) Vodka (Poland) Wine (Italy) never had an issue there either. We've declared everything we've had- this last trip we brought back 3 bottles. They didn't bat an eye.

Said another way, you can bring back all the alcohol you want, you just have to declare it and be prepared to pay the modest duty if asked to.

The food issue is really not a customs issue - its Department of Agriculture trying to prevent plant and animal diseases from entering the country. Its the customs inspectors who ask, and send you to the ag inspectors if they think there's a problem.

First and foremost, declare food and alcohol when arriving, though the questions have changed slightly on the new electronic kiosks compared to the old forms, I believe they focus more now on "animal products" of which meat and dairy would be included, but not candy, pasta, and other food.

Beyond that, leave the meat in Europe some canned products are technically OK, but even those raise questions.

Cheese is fine except for soft runny cheeses that may be unpasteurized, any cheese that is aged at least a few months is fine, hard cheeses even more so.

Alcohol. declare, you can bring back as much as you wish, potentially you will need to pay duty, but as was mentioned, it would be rare that you will pay. In many trips and many bottles, including case quantities, I have never even come close to paying.

Even if you get pulled aside, it is not an issue as long as you declared your items, you might lose something if it is not allowed, but you do not want to be in the situation where you are pulled aside an found even with undeclared allowed items.

Thanks for the information everyone. So it sounds like alcohol isn't an issue as long as I declare it. I won't bring meats back and any cheeses I bring back I'll need to be willing to possibly lose it. Hard cheeses should be okay.... runny cheeses (the best kind in my book) probably not. I was hoping to bring Camembert back. 😕

Aly from Edmonds....since we're from the same state I'll assume that I can bring at least a few bottles back.

I hear what everyone's saying....make sure everything gets declared. I was going to download the custom app where I guess I can fill out the information ahead of time to get through customs faster. Sounds like that can't happen if I have excess to declare. Thanks again everyone!

And note it is not 'if you have more than one liter of alcohol you have to declare it' -- you have to declare any and all of it.
Meat prepared through canning commercially is probably but not necessarily accepted; vacuum packed meats would not be. We really wanted to bring back one of those Spanish hams in the canvas cases; the vendor claimed they were certified and it would be okay. I took the conservative view that they would not be and didn't buy. We saw one confiscated when we were coming through customs.

Unfortunately, Camembert (one of my favorites) doesn't travel well anyway.

Many states also have limits, like this: https://www.tabc.state.tx.us/poe/how_much_can_i_bring_back.asp

I wouldn't worry about wine. Just declare it. I always bring back wine; as much as a case, always declare it, and never had to pay duty. The duty is so low that it's not worth anyone's time to fill out the paperwork and collect it. Hard liquor is a different matter, as the duty is more significant.
We always bring cheese home, almost always unpasteurized and rarely aged very long. We always declare it, and never have had any confiscated. Meat is a different animal, and we don't bother. I did get a salami from Hungary confiscated many years ago.

Thanks everyone. And thanks for the clarification that even within the limits we still have to declare it. I think Calvados is considered hard alcohol so we'll limit ourselves on that and bring home wine. Cheeses... I guess it's true that Camembert doesn't travel well.. but a girl can dream. 😁

All the above not withstanding, I have brought Calvados back every time I have gone to Normandy, have never declared it, and have never had a hassle. I once carried lots of wine back to the States from France, but connected through Canada. Apparently, you have to follow their lower import limits even if just connecting. While carrying a visible 3-pack of wine in my hand with one travel companion, they asked me if that was all I had (which I think was over the limit). I said yes, and hoped they wouldn't search the backpack I was wearing (4 more bottles). They didn't, and I enjoyed every sip. Yes, I know people will flame me for this, but I always just declare "nothing" regardless of what I am carrying and I go through customs without a hitch. IMHO, better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission.
Just my too sense. YMMV...

And you problem with being honest is ..... .?

PharmerPhil, I would love your input in this thread: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/travel-ethics-612334a0-0ca1-4128-b088-c13d1d8a91c3

I am not willing to get on a list of customs cheaters in order to sneak a bottle or two past customs when declaring them would hve no effect anyway. Among other things it would probably result in revoking global entry. We also live in a world increasingly authoritarian and increasingly information managed. A friend of my sons in his late teens got arrested for fairly petty crime; this is long past him -- he is in his 40s. For many years he traveled to Canada with his family for vacations; in the past few years he has not been able to enter Canada because of his criminal record. After decades of no one caring, now they do.

People used to violate the visa rules all the time and spend months in Europe; I know people who spent years in Italy without proper papers. Now a failure to follow the Schengen regulations is likely to be caught out and result in you being barred from travel in Europe for 5 years. We got pulled out of line in Amsterdam a few years ago because the Rome agent had no stamped our passport on entry. We had to prove that we had no exceeded the time allowed (we were leaving on day 89) The guy pulled with us could not prove this and missed the plane.

Why run a risk for virtually no gain?

I had the privilege of spending a day with customs at LAX when I was training to be a tour director. Here's what I learned--if you are honest, they cut you a break. Most times, at least with alcohol, if you declare everything, they won't bother with the paperwork.

If you try to sneak things in, and make it, well you win. But if they catch you....you lose all your alcohol, you get fined, and you will now be searched every time you re-enter the U.S. Forever. Not just your bag but you as well. And that could mean in a private room with you taking everything off.

Bringing a tour group back to the U.S from Mexico, we had to go through customs. Most of my passengers were Australian. One young lady brought in a bottle of tequila only she was underage and that is against the law. The customs officer told her to give the bottle to someone in line over 21 who was not bringing in any liquor. She did and it was allowed in.

If you are honest, they will work with you. If you aren't, be prepared to pay--in not just money.

I've had vacuum-packed meats and cheese unceremoniously tossed into the trash upon arrival at customs at LAX. The first time it happened I thought my husband was going to be arrested he was so upset!! Yes...we didn't do our homework and just assumed we would be able to bring these things home but use our disappointment as your guide!

I used to work at CBP, and the official answer is - it depends. You can bring in one liter of alcohol per adult in your group. That can be wine, beer, hard liquor, etc. Typically, you should have to pay a duty on an extra bottle, but that also depends because the officers enforce state laws too, so your home state may have rules/limits relating to imports that require different enforcement. States with wine industries, especially California, are much stricter about what you can bring home.

As a very general rule, non-perishable food you buy off a grocery store shelf in Europe will be okay to bring home. My favorite is to buy spices, from a local super market not a sidewalk market, that wouldn't otherwise be available at home . That rule isn't hard and fast. I've seen a can of meat flavored ravioli from Italy confiscated because of potential mad cow disease.

Cheeses are usually a problem because the US requires all dairy to be pasteurized, Europeans prefer their dairy non-pasteurized. I'd expect cheeses to be confiscated, but that isn't absolute. Some products are okay, I just can't tell you which off the top of my head (the hard/dry cheeses may be okay). Normandie does a creamy cheese that I doubt is okay to bring home.

Sausages are rarely okay. Sometimes it's the packaging/processing that makes it unsuitable to bring home. Other times it's the country of origin because of animal diseases (e.g. mad cow disease) we want to keep out of our country. The rules of your home state also makes a difference. Like wines, states with a lot of ranching have stricter rules relating to meats.

Duty is interesting too. The process to determine duty doesn't generate enough to be worth the time for officers to calculate. There's no good reason for them to spend 30 minutes to determine you owe $20, so don't be surprised if they just check what you have, take what can't be brought into the country, then let you go.

The worst case scenario is the inspector decides you want to bring things home for resale, rather than personal use. That generally happens when people are bring cases of wines home. They can then require you to get an importers license and charge you duties. A lot of things get left at the port, and ultimately destroyed, because the cost of the license and duties is greater than the value of what a person is trying to bring home.

The good answer is to always declare everything. Even if it's confiscated, you are never in trouble if you declare everything. The other worst case scenario is getting charged with smuggling because you failed to declare everything. In my experience, officers are like other law enforcement. If they think you are lying to them (and some people keep lying even after it's obvious), they'll do their worst. If they think you are being honest, they'll be more inclined to give you a break.

When people reference not bringing fresh, runny cheeses, they really mean fresh - like ricotta, crème fraiche, or the French product "fromage frais." A runny camembert is runny because it's well aged and not a problem, although also easy to squash and you probably don't want it to sit in the sun on airport tarmac. In years past, not in current online info, I saw prohibitions of again fresh cheeses from a few specific countries, such as Yemen, not anywhere in Europe. I bring back a variety of cheese from Europe every year and of course do declare it. I usually use the term "aged cheese" and the country of origin. No agriculture officer says "boo" at SeaTac, but it does mean not going through the fast track re-entry at passport control.

P.S. Camembert often comes in a light wooden box that helps with the squashing issue.

Really. You don't have to fill out the customs form that is passed out on the planes and list all your stuff? The last time we entered the country everyone had to fill out and turn in the forms.

No camembert and other soft aged cheeses are not allowed; it is not just 'fresh' cheeses, it is all the gooey cheeses. they specifically exempt hard cheese like cheddar and parmessan.

This is the latest documentation I've found and not different from what I've seen over many years of double-checking like a cheese fiend: https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/3619/~/travelers-bringing-food-into-the-u.s.-for-personal-use.

If recent user experience has varied by airport, then I vouch for Seattle-Tacoma as the one to fly to.

I will concede to Laura's link. I used the term "runny cheese" and was thinking more of fresh cheeses. There are aged very soft cheeses, and in theory they are permissible, but can also concede that if a question of pasteurization or if the agent considers them aged...then it is up to the agent.

There are also issues with Port of Entry that need to be considered, both if the Port of Entry is a transit point or final destination. Some States have much tighter alcohol and agricultural regulations, California for one has much stricter fruit, plant, and dairy limits. Many states alcohol limits. In my experience, if your Port of Entry is a transit point (flying onto another state) then less enforcement, if Final Destination, then rules of the resident state are enforced. Add all that confusion plus the discretion of the CBP officer, I see why everyone has different experiences, not to mention just sneaking things through.

No camembert and other soft aged cheeses are not allowed; it is not just 'fresh' cheeses, it is all the gooey cheeses. t

According to the link that Laura includes, camembert and other soft cheeses are OK:
"Cheese- Solid cheese (hard or semi-soft, that does not contain meat); butter, butter oil, and cultured milk products such as yogurt and sour cream are not restricted. Feta cheese, Brie, Camembert, cheese in brine, Mozzarella and Buffalo Mozzarella are permissible (USDA Animal Product Manual, Table 3-14-6). Cheese in liquid (such as cottage cheese or ricotta cheese) and cheese that pours like heavy cream are not admissible from countries affected by foot-and-mouth disease (FMD)."

While I've been occasionally questioned about what cheeses I'm carrying, they've always been allowed in.

Thanks for so much great information everyone. It looks like I can probably bring back wine and some cheeses....though I will probably need to find a way to keep it cool enough for the flight home.

though I will probably need to find a way to keep it cool enough for the flight home.

That can sometimes be a problem. On one trip we bought several really good goat cheeses in Lyon, then our room in the hotel we stayed in the last night was really hot, and when we got home a couple of the cheeses were ruined. And certain types of cheeses will suffer just because planes are usually warm.

You can buy raw milk Camembert - comes in a little wooden box - and ask the cheesewhiz to sell you one - or more - that you plan to eat in a week or two.
Put them in 2 or 3 heavy ziploc freezer bags and keep in checked luggage where they will stay cold. You don't have to specify if it's raw milk or not unless you plan to resell it commercially.
You can't bring cheese of any kind in cabin luggage because it counts as "paste".
If buying several different types of cheese either ask the cheesewhiz to vacuum pack each piece individually or use ziploc method and pack in checked luggage. Some people bring Tupperware but if you just want Camembert you already have the box.
The only French cheese that I'm aware of that you can't bring home is extremely long-aged Mimolette because little mites live in the rind.
Don't bring back more cheese than you can eat...

"... ask the cheesewhiz..."

I love this term. I'm going to ask the cheesemongers at my favorite cheese shop if they mind me starting to call them the Cheese Whizzes

You can't bring cheese of any kind in cabin luggage because it counts as "paste".

We've always brought our cheese back from France in carry-on. There have never been any questions, and I assume it shows up on the x-ray.

Some airports are stricter than others, so I would pack in checked luggage. The cabin temperature can vary, especially if you have to change planes or have a long layover. Cheese kept at a constant temperature will also have a longer shelf life.
The term en français for cheezewhiz would be "l'expert fromager" - everybody likes that one.

Ship it home. It may cost some but it done with.

Ship it home. It may cost some but it done with.

Under no circumstances should you do that with cheese. Wine might be another story, although that is tricky; you basically can't do it unless the seller has a method for shipping.

I have been watching a TV show called "to catch a smuggler" on NatGeo and the show is about catching drug smugglers, but they also catch so many people trying to bring banned food into the US. Some of it is just in baggies and already looks rotten, or whole ducks in grocery bags. On the show they basically said "Be honest" by declaring it. We brought back vacuum packed boars Salami from Italy last trip, declared it and that was the end of it. We purchase liquor from the duty free and it is sealed in a bag, that bag is unsealed and weighted coming into the US.

Leticia,
Can you buy duty-free alcohol and bring it in your carryon?

Also, does anyone know how much it might cost to ship, say, a 10# box? Just curious.

I'm so glad that I decided to use this forum. All of your experience is helping this newbie!

Thanks again!

does anyone know how much it might cost to ship, say, a 10# box?

A lot. A few years ago in France we brought a box with a few bottles of walnut oil to the post office to ship it home so we wouldn't have to check bags. We won't do that again. I believe the shipping cost more than the oil. Plus, shipping doesn't get around customs limitations on quantity or the nature of the goods.
As to duty free, I don't know the answer to the question about carry-on, but I wouldn't waste my time buying alcohol (or cheese) at a duty free shop. Their selection of wine has been pathetic at any DF shop I've checked (maybe hard liquor is different), and I don't believe it helps you avoid any US Customs duty.

Kelly, if your return overseas-flight lands in your home airport, you're OK. But if you have a connecting flight, you have a problem.
If you buy alcohol or any liquids at duty-free, you will have to re-pack it into your checked bag once you clear customs on re-entering the United States before re-checking the bag. In other words, you won't be able to board your connecting flight in the US with liquids in a carryon, since at that point it doesn't matter to security or the airline where you got it. I have seen people get their duty-free confiscated at security because they assumed it was safe to travel with.

"Duty-free" just means that the seller may not have had to pay import duty on it, but doesn't exempt you from paying it. It gets treated like any other purchase by US Customs.

So for you, at that point, you still have to consider how you will safely package it to survive in your checked bag. If you didnt check a bag then you have a problem.

We flew CDG to LAX through Montreal on Air Canada and had checked our luggage so we only had a personal item each. We purchased a few hundred dollars of alcohol in duty free, which was all placed in a large plastic bag and sealed. I purchased a tote to carry it all on the plane as we had also purchased some other stuff.. We put the tote in the overhead and at customs in Montreal they broke the seal on the plastic bag took out each bottle and weighed it then put all the liquor back in the bag and off we went on the next flight home. We plan to do the same on the next trip.