pineapples and planes

[abe]

a friend told me that i can bring an organic white pineapple to the mainland by just bringing it to Hilo airport and having the ag inspection done there. It doesn't sound true but maybe it is? Has anyone done this or is it a lost cause? I am heading for a vacation to visit family tomorrow and was just wondering what to do? mahalo plenty!

[csgray]

I have flown with bags of pineapples from Hilo to the mainland with no hassles, but they did count as my carry on. I think it is one of the few AG products you can fly with.

Carol

[Rob Tucker]

Yeah, You can have anything agricultural inspected at the airport. Just get there a bit early. I have carried flowers from my garden several times.

Not a big deal.

[james weatherford]

Just two weeks ago I took two pineapples from my garden, snug inside my hard-shell checked-luggage suitcase. The USDA inspectors checked them for bugs and sent me on my way with them.


James Weatherford, Ph.D.
15-1888 Hialoa
Hawaiian Paradise Park

[missydog1]

Pineapples are in a special class, not restricted, as Carol said.
Here's the APHIS list:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/pubs/fshee...awaii.html

Permitted Items from Hawaii into the U.S. Mainland and Guam (after passing inspection):

Beach sand
Coconuts
Cooked foods
Dried seeds
Dried decorative arrangements
Fresh flowers (except gardenia, jade vine, and Mauna Loa)
Hinahina (Spanish moss)
“Irish” or white potatoes
Pineapples
Rocks or stones
Seashells (except land snail shells)
Wood (including drift wood and sticks)

Note: Papayas require treatments before they can be shipped to the U.S. mainland. Commercially canned and thoroughly cooked foods are permitted.

Items from Hawaii Not Permitted into the U.S. Mainland:

Berries of any kind, including coffee berries and sea grapes
Cactus plants or parts
Cotton and cotton bolls
Fresh flowers of gardenia, jade vine, and Mauna Loa
Fresh pulpy fruits and vegetables (except pineapple)
Kikania and fresh pandanus
Live insects and snails
Plants in soil
Seeds with pulp and fresh seed pods
Soil
Sugarcane
Swamp cabbage (unchoy)
Sweet potato (raw)

[Alex]

What about honey?

[maud gonne]

I've often taken home-canned jams & preserves to the mainland for gifts. I haven't really declared them to the ag inspection but they're bubble wrapped in my suitcase and, I assume, visible on the x-ray.

[riverwolf]

honey is ok if its in your checked baggage. If you have with you in "carry on" they will confiscate it.

riverwolf

[Alex]

Thanks.

[alfastatik]

Can someone enlighten me on why ag inspections have to occur from Hawaii and not vice versa? The only requirement being the dreaded Declarations form.

If Dept of Ag was so worried about invasive species, why is a mainland ag inspection not required? It also seems like a bias towards the importation of food at the expense of exporting food to mainland markets.

Jeffrey Krepps
jevkreppsz@juno.com
Kurtistown, HI