taking some meat on our flight

Question

Maybe not the right forum for my question, but we're flying in to California. We want to take some dry freezed meals (containing meat) for our backpacking trip. Below is what says the USDA GOV website on taking meat products:

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. Any of 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

Certificate of origin

My question: does it mean that ALL these documentation is needed to take it into the US? Or does a package label, passport and origin of flight be enough?

Answer

According to USDA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) guidelines, you do not need to provide all the listed forms of documentation to bring meat products into the United States. Rather, these are examples of acceptable documentation that may be used to prove the meat’s eligibility. Essentially, you need sufficient proof that the meat comes from a country free of certain animal diseases and meets U.S. import requirements.

In practice, for personal use and small quantities, CBP officers typically require documentation such as:

Package label indicating the product type and origin.
Proof of travel or itinerary (passport and flight origin can serve this purpose).

Other documentation, like a meat inspection certificate, certificate of origin, or receipt of sale, is generally required only in certain situations or if the officer requests further proof. You do not have to provide all of them by default.

Additional tips:

Ensure that the meat is from a country recognized as free of foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever, and other restricted animal diseases.
Keep the meat in its original packaging whenever possible, clearly showing the origin and type.
Declare all meat products at the port of entry, even if you have documentation. Failure to declare can result in fines and confiscation.
Frozen, dried, or cured meats for personal use are usually easier to bring in than fresh meats, but CBP officers have the final say.

In summary, for your dry, freeze-dried meals containing meat, having the package label showing the origin, your passport, and the flight origin is usually sufficient. You do not need to collect every type of documentation listed by USDA, but be prepared to show additional proof if requested by the CBP officer.

taking some meat on our flight

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