I saw on another thread that people were reporting that Customs/US Department of Agriculture were actually enforcing big fines (10K?!?) for people trying to smuggle in ham and other meat products from Spain. MM, I'm not at all advocating that people break the archaic and illogical agricultural laws of the US, but I get the sense that alot of us, er, know people who may do this...

Seriously, I know a lot of Spaniards living in the US who are sorely tempted. Does anyone reliably know of confirmed cases of fines, as opposed to just confiscation?

I don't think we have many postings in the recent past about this kind of thing. Maybe because people keep their mouths shut in a public forum like this. But surely a lot of people KNOW SOMEONE who has done this kind of thing.

There are a couple threads from the past entitled " taking food back to the USA " & " What I can and can´t bring home ".

Saludos, MadridMan

my sources, reliable ones, tell me that YES they are now seriously enforcing the laws concerning the importation of foods...
if you don't declare EVERYTHING, even the legal foods, they can slap you with a $10000 fine! and they have been doing just that...
this is why i've been blowing my allowance at tienda.com...

thanks for the replies. MM, I saw the threads from the past, but my primary concern is that, as Big Jamon says, there seems to be a fairly recent crackdown in terms of fines vs. simple confiscation. This is important information, as I really do know a lot of Spaniards who can't believe that the US government is serious.

just did a little digging and this is what i found...
this is from The US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) "For travelers entering the United States who do not declare agricultural products, APHIS can now charge up to $50,000 in fines. First-time offenders will be fined up to $1,000 in penalties if the products are not for resale. Agricultural smugglers face civil penalties of up to $250,000 per violation or criminal charges"
and according to US Customs aggravating circumstances can increase penalites by a factor of 10...ouch!
i had also made a statement that canned products were OK...i was wrong...canned meats, poultry, and fish are no go...in fact anything made with meat or meat by-products is no go...
so i will be thoroughly enjoying jamon and chorizo in spain but i doubt i will be trying to evade the beagles on my way in...and i guess tienda will continue to get my business...

Canned fish is a no go? And I sent my parents home with several tins of anchovies, octopus and other canned fish in August. Oops! Guess I won´t be bringing them anymore for Christmas. Have the rules changed for the bringing in of cheese? I was planning on brining in a cheese wheel (AGAIN! ).

Take those sniffing dogs seriously in the airports and don´t try to befriend one. I witnessed one poor lady being read the riot act by a customs agent when she started to pet the pooch. I have flown in and out of the USA (Philadelphia and San Francisco) pre and post 9/11 about 5 times over the past year and a half. The security in customs just seems to continually increase. Don´t risk the jamones and your wallet. If you live in Philadelphia you can buy jamón serrano, chorizo and manchego at DiBruno´s in South Philly and Rittenhouse Square. While it´s more expensive than buying it in Spain, it´s a heck of alot cheaper than a $10,000 fine.

Most tin food items should be fine, but cooter is wise to warn us all about the fines. In our new environment of strict border inspections, and tighter visa/security controls, the INS and US Customs agencies are much tougher than even a year ago. I recently entered the US, in San Francisco (from Asia), and can attest to the "new environment."

Besides, why risk the large fines when some products are now becoming available here in the US...

i was always under the impression that canned items were OK too...but according to customs and USDA any and all meat products are no go...anything made with meat is no go...fish i'm not as sure of...but why risk it...

Big Jamon,
Is this rule about canned meats a "new" rule? After Jan. 2002?

i don't know exactly when this went into effect...but i did some more digging in our gov't's web sites...fish is OK...
meat, meat by products, anything made with meat or meat by products is no go...
also fines for violations are $1000 on the spot! but on the US customs site i read that they can increase that but a factor of 10...so there is the $10000 fine...payable immediately...ouch!
you can check this site out...
travelers tips