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International Traveler: Meats,

Poultry, and Seafood

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The United States restricts or prohibits the entry of many agricultural products,

which can carry foreign pests and diseases that harm American agriculture and our

environment. Help us keep American agriculture healthy by following the guidance

on this page about products you may want to bring into the United States.

Travelers entering the United States must declare

all agricultural or wildlife products.

Travelers entering the United States must declare all agricultural or wildlife products

to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. You must also tell them if you visited

a farm or were in contact with animals before traveling to the United States.

U.S. agricultural inspectors will examine your items to be sure they meet entry

requirements and do not harbor harmful foreign pests or diseases. U.S. inspectors

have the authority to make a final determination about whether your products can

enter the country. We recommend that you keep receipts and original packaging of

agricultural products as proof of their country of origin.
As long as you declare all of the agricultural products you are bringing

with you, you will not face any penalties—even if an inspector determines

that they cannot enter the country.

Meats, Poultry, and Seafood You CAN and

CANNOT Bring Back to the United States

Meats

USDA does not allow travelers to bring back most cattle, swine, sheep or goat meat

or meat products from countries affected with certain serious livestock diseases:

Foot-and-mouth disease

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)

Swine vesicular disease

Classical swine fever

African swine fever

To find out a country’s status for these diseases, visit our animal disease status

page.

Travelers may bring back fresh (chilled or frozen), cooked, cured or dried meat from

countries without these diseases if they have official documentation to prove the

product’s country of origin. The following items are considered official

documentation: package label; written documentation; proof of travel (passport or

travel itinerary); origin of flight; receipt of sale; CBP document (based on the

officer’s interview of the traveler); a meat inspection certificate; or certificate of

origin.

Travelers may bring back boneless meat in commercially packaged, labeled, and

contained in unopened hermetically sealed containers or packages that are cooked

by a commercial method after such packing to produce articles that are shelf-stable

without refrigeration.

Travelers may not bring back more than 50 pounds of an item. Shipments larger

than 50 pounds are considered commercial shipments and must meet additional

requirements through USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. Contact them at
(202) 720-9904 or www.fsis.usda.gov.

Cured hams (prosciutto, Serrano ham, Iberian ham) and salami from areas within

France, Germany, Italy and Spain may not be brought into the United States by

travelers. These items may only enter in commercial shipments because there are

special restrictions that require additional certification and documentation.

Poultry

USDA does not allow travelers to bring back most poultry meat or poultry meat

products from countries affected with certain serious poultry diseases:

Highly pathogenic avian influenza

Newcastle disease

To find out a country’s status for these diseases, visit our animal disease status

 page.

Commercially-packaged and labelled, cooked, shelf-stable poultry items from

affected countries that are in unopened packages are allowed.  However, travelers

may not bring back more than 50 pounds of an item.  Shipments larger than 50

pounds are considered commercial shipments and must meet additional

requirements through USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.  Contact them at

(202) 720-9904 or www.fsis.usda.gov.

Cooked poultry meat or poultry meat products from affected countries will be

inspected by U.S. Customs & Border Protection.  Items appearing to be “thoroughly

cooked throughout” will be allowed entry.  Items that do not appear “thoroughly

cooked throughout” will not be allowed without special certification and an import

permit.

Travelers may bring back fresh (chilled or frozen), cooked, cured or dried poultry

meat from countries without these diseases if they have official documentation to

prove the product’s country of origin.  The following items are considered official

documentation:  package label; written documentation; proof of travel (passport or

travel itinerary); origin of flight; receipt of sale; CBP document (based on the

officer’s interview of the traveler); a meat inspection certificate; or certificate of

origin.

Seafood
APHIS does not regulate the importation of most seafood items.  We only regulate

breaded seafood products, and only if the breading contains animal-origin

ingredients (milk, eggs).  Please contact us directly about breaded seafood items.

For all other seafood import questions, contact:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service  at 800-358-2104 or www.fws.gov

The Food and Drug Administration at 301-796-0356 or www.fda.gov

Need Help?

Use the Veterinary Services (VS) Permitting Assistant to understand

import requirements for animal products. This self-guided tool has the most

updated and comprehensive information, based on the type of materials you want to

bring in and the intended use.

Please note that commodities intended for "personal use" mean those in passenger

baggage or passenger vehicles. Commodities sent by mail are regulated as

"commercial" use.