US Customs and honey

Does anyone know offhand what is required to bring honey
back into the US? I'm going to be on a boat to Jamaica
at some point this winter and was hoping to bring back
some souvenirs for fermentation. I assume as a
food product it must at least be declared.

Does it have to be processed/pasteurized?
Is there a volumetric limit? Is a gallon going to get me
bent over and probed?

Thanks,
Z

zweitracht said:

Does anyone know offhand what is required to bring honey
back into the US? I'm going to be on a boat to Jamaica
at some point this winter and was hoping to bring back
some souvenirs for fermentation. I assume as a
food product it must at least be declared.

Does it have to be processed/pasteurized?
Is there a volumetric limit? Is a gallon going to get me
bent over and probed?

Thanks,
Z

Click to expand...

Looks like I may sort of answer my own post here. I wrote an email
to the APHIS branch of the USDA asking if I could pick up
some honey while cruising the Carribean and bring it back
through customs, citing our usual fears in the meadmaking world
about bringing back things that hurt local bees. Here was
their rather brief but also rather timely response:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Barbara.Kennedy AT aphis.usda.gov Wed Nov 24 13:58:19 2004
Subject: honey
Message-ID: <OF525A8B8E.67918DC4-ON85256F56.00679C02-85256F56.0067AFAB@aphis.usd
a.gov>
Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2004 13:52:33 -0500

re: your message to APHIS Web. As long as the honey is for human
consumption it is allowed entry without permit.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, not very official sounding, but from an official source. Take what
you can get there, I guess?

-- Z