Can I bring cheese to the US from the Netherlands?
We are going to visit our relatives in the US. I'm thinking of getting sweets, cookies and old Dutch cheese as small presents, but I'm not really sure about cheese.
I found this that says it is possible. However, all my friends suggested to not take cheese with me.
Best Answer
My mom brings cheese back from France frequently. She declares it and tells them what it is if they ask. Vacuum sealing hasn't come up in the past. I don't think cheese from Holland will be handled any differently than cheese from France. The customs people are mainly concerned about non-aged unpasteurized whole milk cheese (eg. Camembert).
Her cheese purchases have been noticed a few times by the sniffer dogs. I call them cheese beagles. :-) The handler will ask to see the cheese, but won't take legal ones.
A cheese shop in a big city may be able to vacuum seal purchases for you.
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Can I bring cheese from Netherlands?
When purchasing cheese to bring home from your trip to Holland, keep this in mind and check the regulations for your country. Members of the EU nations will have fewer problems and restrictions than travelers from the U.S. In the U.S., you can bring up to ten pounds of cheese for your personal use.Can you bring cheese into the USA?
Solid cheese is fine as long as it doesn't contain meat (such as bacon cheddar cheese). Soft cheeses such as Brie and mozzarella are allowed, but liquid cheeses, including cottage and ricotta, aren't allowed if they came from countries with foot-and-mouth disease.Can I bring cheese to the US from Europe?
YES YOU CAN! First, the short answer: if you are flying home from Europe or elsewhere, you can bring cheese into the U.S. for personal consumption.Can you bring cheese through customs?
According to the US Customs WebsiteYou may bring bakery items and most cheeses into the United States. As a general rule, condiments, vinegars, oils, packaged spices, honey, coffee, fish, tea, and baby formula are admissible.Can I bring cheese home from the Netherlands?
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Answer 2
There is a whole bunch of news articles w.r.t the cheese issue:
and the list goes on.
At issue is the cheese made from Raw/Unpasteurized Milk which is currently considered to pose a potential health risk based on the FDA/Health Canada Report and another one so the concern is that if the cheese is made from an unpasteurised milk it may not be allowed into the country even though the regulations (see tables 3-14-6, 3-14-7) don't say anything about the hard cheeses to be disallowed.
Answer 3
I just came back from Amsterdam with a small block (about a pound) of local cheese that I bought in Haarlem. The shop vacuum sealed it for me and put it in a bag with the receipt. It went in my carry-on.
- No problem at Schipol *
- I declared that I had food at US customs. They asked me what it was then sent me through. No problem.
- Then I had to go back through TSA security because I was transferring to a domestic flight. Still no problem.
Note: At Schipol I was so concerned they might take away my cheese that I forgot to remove a can of shaving cream from my bag. That landed me in the bag search line. So remember to remove all fluids.
I strongly recommend declaring it at customs. It took an extra 10 seconds for them to ask me what kind of food I had. Best to just be honest upfront and avoid a possible fine.
Answer 4
If you take it along with you declare it as dairy, that way worst case scenario they will just take it away from you. If you don't declare it they might charge you a $800 US fine for bringing a dairy product into the country and not declaring it.
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