Bring back pasta and spices from Italy?? Is it OK??

I'm sure it's not a problem but keep in mind that "fresh" and "local" are probably two of the most important ingredients in any good dish, Italian or otherwise. I suspect you (or any cook) can probably get better results by buying something fresh and local rather than bringing pasta and spices half way around the world, but maybe that's just me - and I've carried stuff a long way that others scoffed at, too.

I say this while patting a piece of the Rock Of Gibraltar that's sitting on my desk...

Dried pasta and dried spices aren't a problem.

As mentioned, dried pasta and herbs are fine. As someone who cooks, I'd ask why? Italian made dried pasta and herbs can be bought just about anywhere since it's readily imported.

Fresh herbs are better and are allowed but will be inspected. You can buy just about any herb fresh in the U.S

Fresh pasta should be refrigerated and only lasts a few days when kept cool. (It will last a few weeks if frozen). The question is how are you going to keep it refrigerated for your flight home.

Funny story...A couple years ago I was passing through Milan and purchased a 10 euro box of Peck's dried spaghetti pasta at the famous gourmet food store of the same name. It was the same size box as Barilla, Ronzoni, or any other brand you would find in a supermarket here in the US at a fraction of the price. Part of me said don't waste your money, it won't taste any better than the Shoprite brand I usually purchase. But I had to know what a ten euro box of spaghetti tastes like and and bought it. Anyway it turns out when one places a box of spaghetti in your carry-on and it passes through the airport scanner/x-ray machine it gives the appearance of some sort of weapon! As I was flying from Venice to Amsterdam, and Amsterdam back to New York, I was asked to walkover to the computer monitor attached to the scanner and explain what this "object" was, and my carry-on was then subjected to a thorough hand search to confirm it was indeed pasta. Both the Italian and Dutch security folks looked at me like I was insane to pack a box of pasta in my bag. The Venice airport security guy literally asked me ".....whya doa youa havea pasta ina youra baga?..." As if I was the first person to have ever done that...maybe I was:) When I filled out my US customs card, I of course checked "yes" to the box asking if I was bringing-in food products. The Customs officer asked me what food I was bringing in, I told him, he shrugged and said welcome to back to the USA, and I was on my way.

P.S. Yes I did cook up that 10 euro pasta, with some cheap sauce that was on-sale half-price at my local supermarket, and it tasted pretty damn good!!!

Don't forget the sun- dried tomatoes they are outstanding! I always bring them & herbs back. I've been buying my blended herbs from the large stand in Campo de Fiori in Rome for years. I'm from Califoria and haven't found any here nearly as fun. Did gets some organic herbs in Sorrento last year that turned out buggie. My friends wait for their goodie bags and it's so easy to bring. Won't break. I did once bring lavender sachets and chocolates back from France and even though the lavender wasn't near the chocolates the aroma overwhelmed the chocolate and we couldn't eat it. Have fun.

I haven't had problems in the past, however the rules for fruits and vegetables varies from port to port. Generally bringing seeds (in fruits/vegetables) is not allowed.

I have to say that when we were in Florence in 2002, we found a bag of Italian spices that were wonderful. Have never been able to find them locally or on the internet. So when we found out a couple of years later that our neighbors were going to Florence, we gave them a copy of the label and asked them to bring us back some. My friend said she brought back the only bag that she could find. When we went last year, we found those again and several more types that I have never found here at home. Must just be something about those particular blends, but I have never found anything else that I like as well.

This is the best idea for gifts to friends and coworkers. We hit the grocery store in Venice, actually took the stand up gondola over to the "new" part of the city. We bought little bottles of infused olive oils and all kinds of pasta...a lot of which I have not found in the US...such as the little shaped ditallini, etc. It was great...while we were there we bought fresh cheese and salami and pepperoni and a loaf of good bread...The four of us ate for under 20 euro that night!! That alone is a miracle in Venice!!! Go, enjoy and eat, eat, eat!!

You can bring back seeds if they are commercially packaged and in small quantities for personal use.