LaredoBuzz.Com

Courtesy Richard Pauza,

 LAREDO — As the Laredo, Nuevo Laredo community prepares for their children to return to school, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is advising the traveling public that certain agricultural items are prohibited from entry to the U.S. and violations can trigger significant penalties.  This weekend alone, CBP made 12 interceptions of prohibited agricultural items and assessed a total of $3,350 in fines.

Over a 72-hour period, CBP agriculture specialists, officers and technicians at the Laredo port of entry seized 83 individual fruits or vegetables, 16 pounds of potatoes, four pounds of lemongrass, 14 and a half pounds of peaches and 6.6 pounds of raw pork skins.

 Among the standout seizures was the interception of the raw pork skins. During a secondary inspection a CBP technician received a negative declaration from an individual for meats, fruits or vegetables. During the examination, a small ice chest not presented for examination was discovered. The chest contained more than six pounds of raw pork skins. The pork skins were seized and the driver was assessed a $300 fine.

 In another significant interception, an X-ray scan detected anomalies in a bag belonging to a bus passenger destined to Nebraska . The passenger was referred for additional screening and gave a negative declaration for meats, fruits and vegetables. During the examination, a CBP agriculture specialist discovered six avocados with seeds wrapped in tin foil and stuffed inside a bag of peanuts. The CBP agriculture specialist seized the avocados with seeds and assessed the bus passenger a $300 fine. 

 Penalties for personal importations of undeclared, prohibited agricultural items, depending on the severity of the violation, can run as high as $1,000 and up to more than $250,000 for commercial importations.

 Certain fruits, vegetables, plant and animal products are prohibited for personal importation into the U.S. since they can serve as hosts to certain plant pests and foreign animal diseases that could have a destructive effect on American agriculture if allowed to become established.

 Among fruits, vegetables, plant and animal products that are prohibited for personal importation are the following: apples, oranges, guavas, mangos, peaches, pomegranates, sugarcane, lemongrass, raw potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, avocados with seed, eggs, raw and cooked pork and raw poultry. Cooked potatoes and avocados without the seed are permissible.

 “We would like to advise the traveling public returning to the U.S. from their summer vacations in Mexico to become familiar with the requirements regarding prohibited fruits, vegetables, plant and animal products, ideally before they make their trip, so that they don’t face seizure of their items, penalties and delays upon their return,” said Gene Garza, CBP Port Director, Laredo.

 The traveling public can learn more about prohibited fruits, vegetables, plant and animal products and other prohibited items by consulting the “Know Before You Go” guide or the list of top 10 travelers tips at the following link: http://cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg/