Food and international expeditions

[gindling]

We are preparing to leave for our month long caving trip to South America and were wondering if anyone knows the laws on bringing dried meat over country borders. I dont want to be counting on it only to have it taken from my bag at customs. We have found on previous trips that we can get everything else in country but finding dried or otherwise cured meats is not easy. Though we didn't have problems last time, I just wanted to make sure and to see if anyone has any info on this.

[VACaver]

During my years as a Military Airlift Command crewmember, I never had a problem bringing dried meat (bags of jerky) into any country. Your best bet is to contact the consulate or embassy of the country that you are going to visit and have them direct you to their customs/agriculture department to find out if it is allowed.

[bigredfoote]

I've had powdered milk and beef jerky taken from me by a sniffing dog at the airport in New Zealand, and had beef jerky from home taken from my bag by the TSA.

You didn't say what countries you are going to, which makes a difference, but try these websites:

http://www.iatatravelcentre.com/PE-Peru ... htm#Import regulations
Peru seems to be okay, Argentina and Brasil who are more famous for beef say no.

Lonely planet boards are sometimes a good source of info as well.
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/ ... d-products

[VACaver]

I'm not surprised you had issues going into New Zealand. When it came to entering the country with any type of agricultural product, they were the toughest out of them all.

[KeyserSoze]

My girlfriend went to Botswana and I only asked her to bring me one thing; Beef Jerky. She packed a small amount in her bag and even had it registered with a special form to declare that she was bringing dried meat. She got it confiscated at another airport.

[VACaver]

Customs and Ag people have been known to confiscate items for personal use, not because the item isn't allowed into the country.

Again, check the regulations for the country your are going to before you go.

[gindling]

Thanks for all the replies. I did read the regulations for Peru and though we didnt have problems last time I was curious about anyones experiences on other trips. I too have had some items confiscated for no reason. Hopefully it all goes well!