Bringing Food Back to USA

Fresh meats are not allowed into the U.S.

However, the best place to get Prosciutto and Parmesano Reggianno is in the Parma area which is between Venice and Florence. That's were it comes from.

Cheese is fine if you get it vacuum-packed. I had no problem, and I told the customs inspectors about it. I brought back parmigiano-reggiano, and pecorino toscano. I don't think it's worth bringing back parmigiano if you're not going to emilia-romagna. But in Florence you can find pecorino toscano, which is awesome, and in rome you should be able to find pecorino romano, which is similar to parmesan. No problem carrying it on the plane, though. I have been asked to open my suitcase and have cheese swabbed (on a domestic flight), but it was nothing more than a few minutes' inconvenience.

It is not the wax rind or the vacuum pack that makes the cheese acceptable. Neither would have any affect on any pathogens the cheese might contain. It is the hardness of the cheese. No soft cheeses. Hard and semi hard cheeses are allowed. Hard cheeses have aged long enough that pathogens would have shown up. Think of an expanding sandwich in a convenience store.

No meat of any kind is allowed into the US. You can bring hard cheeses. Carry on is advised so you can quickly declare and move through customs. If you pack it in your checked luggage, you might have to be pulled aside and searched. Don't ship. It will take too long, and is too expensive. Bring a small quantity home - enough so you can enjoy it for a few weeks after your trip. Cheese can go bad, so planning on buying in bulk isn't advised.

Keep in mind that you can purchase these items in shops in the US that are just about the same quality. However, if you find a cheese you fall in love with in Italy, by all means, bring some home!

If you are really looking for quality, you should be shopping in the small hilltop towns where they make small quantity and high quality cheese. Shopping in the major cities, you can find about the same, but for me, it's dealing with the small shop owner who makes the cheeses, or purchases from the farmers/cheese makers from the countryside where they live.

Thanks for the suggestions. Unless I find a cheese that I can not resist, I'll take Ellen's suggestion and buy from an importer/specialty shop in the Atlanta area.

We developed a real taste for Piave cheese while in Italy. Occasionally we'd find a bit of it in an Italian specialty store in the U.S., so imagine our shock and delight when it began turning up at our local BJ's ("membership" type store like Sam's Club)! It's great cheese but tastes better in a Campo in Venice accompanied by a little Prosecco :). Cheryl

I'd recommend also bringing back some aged balsamic vineger as well (aceto balsamico tradizionale di Modena). As it ages it gets wonderfully sweet - look for vinegar aged 10-50 years (it gets more expensive the longer it is aged). A small drizzle is amazing with a hunk of parmesan or fresh strawberries. Since the flavor is so concentrated, a small bottle will last a long, long time. If you are into authentic artisinal foods, it is a real treat and I splurge I probably never would have tried at home. Available at high-end food stores all over Italy, but you will not be able to take it with your carry-on (even though you can get bottles safely packed on a box).

So if I buy parmigiano cheese that's in the refrigerator section, and vacuum packed, is it OK to not refrigerate for the flight back to the US??

Parmigiano cheese especially can be held at room temperature with no problem, as can most hard cheeses. The softer the cheese the more sensitive to temperature. I would only be concerned about elevated temperatures with cheese.

Elaine, your cheese should be fine.