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  4. CBP Specialist at DFW Intercept Prohibited Food

CBP Specialist at DFW Intercept Prohibited Food

Release Date
Fri, 09/20/2019

Fresh oranges, mooncakes, onions, rice crackers among items destroyed

CBPAS at DFW intercept
CBP agriculture specialist at DFW
intercepted prohibited food items

DALLAS – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists from the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) found a variety of prohibited plant and animal products in a passenger’s checked baggage. 

The passenger was traveling from Vietnam through South Korea. When he arrived at DFW on Sep. 9, CBP agriculture specialists referred him for further inspection. The passenger did not declare any agriculture items; however, during the inspection, CBP agriculture specialists found several prohibited items including three Vietnamese oranges (Cam sanh), rice crackers with dry shredded pork, 2.2 pounds of mooncakes with pork meat, and 3.5 pounds of onion bulbs.

“CBP agriculture specialists are the first line in the effort to prevent prohibited items from entering the United States and harming crops and animals,” said Acting Area Port Director Timothy Johnson. “Passengers are provided multiple opportunities to provide a truthful declaration.  When they fail to do so, they are putting the U.S. agriculture industry at risk.”

CBPAS at DFW intercept
CBP agriculture specialist at DFW
intercepted prohibited food items

Citrus from other countries may carry plant diseases such as citrus canker and pork and its by-products can be infested with foreign animal diseases such as African Swine Fever both of which, if introduced, could harm U.S. agricultural resources. 

CBP assessed the passenger a $300 penalty for failure to declare. The prohibited food was destroyed. On a typical day in fiscal year 2018, CBP agriculture specialists discovered 319 pests at U.S. ports of entry and 4,552 materials for quarantine:  plant, meat, animal byproduct, and soil.


 

 

Last Modified: Feb 13, 2024