Products of Animal Origin

They are referring to the restrictions of products that can't be carried to other country in a hand luggage! Animal products as personal luggage are forbidden both in US from Europe and in Europe from US. I guess it is a bad wording they give the impression you can't carry a sandwich to eat en-route.

That is curious. Are they all PETA people? No leather wallets, no alligator belts ... Or are they indeed talking about food?

Food products are what is being discussed. There are prohibitions against certain food products of animal origin as well as some fruits and vegetables from coming into the U. S. Haggis, for instance is not allowd. Neither is bushmeat. I have seen apples and bananas confiscated at the customs gate as people entered the U.S. A border patrol person tols me we could bring pork and beef sausage from Canada to teh U. S. but not goat or sheep sausage or meat. To get the real word you might try a computer search on: items prohibited from entering the U.S. otherwise you won't be getting help here.

It's basically raw meat or any other unsterile part of an animal that could potentially transfer diseases to other passengers.

Getting the "true" answer is almost impossible. What is certain is that raw meats of all kinds are NG. On our recent return from France the US Customs agent asked if we had any pork products, but not about other meats (we had canned duck rillettes with us). On another trip I had a sealed Hungarian salami taken from me at Customs. And cheese is also equally inconsistent, depending on the Customs agent and the types of questions he/she asks. Although I think the regulations on cheese are actually a little clearer than with meat.

See the "fruits" , "food products" and "meat products" sections on this page http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg/prohibited_restricted.xml I just came through Atlanta airport last week from Munich. There were several dogs sniffing hand luggage and checked bags for prohibited items. I saw two people going through their luggage at the request of the officer, who had asked them if they had any food in their bags. In both cases, they'd already eaten the sandwich/fruit on the plane, but the officer wasn't going to take their word for it.

Thanks, everyone. Sounds like they are talking about specific food products, not my ham sandwich or a leather jacket! CL, your post reminded me of the time the sniffer dog at SeaTac "scented" on my toddler son's blankie. Ha ha! That thing was really ripe after 3 weeks toting around Europe!

Fruit is commonly found and confiscated on coming into USA. I have seen sniffer dogs find apples in a lady's coat pocket which were confiscated

Yes, fresh fruit is one of the most clear no-no's when entering the US.

Yes, the "Products of Animal Origin" is a rather vague term, but since KLM is specifically stating hand luggage as opposed to checked luggage, the concern is probably more in-flight issues than Regulatory. I think they are referring to meats, but also any craft or art items that may be made from animal parts. Basically anything that may harbor organisms that could harm passengers. Of course, most of these are also prohibited by import regulations. So your leather jacket is fine, the mounted boars head from Tuscany maybe not. Your Ham sandwich, purchased after security at the airport, is fine, until you land, where USDA rules take over and you will have to dump it if you have not eaten it.