Can I bring homemade sugar cookies to Australia?

[sassy12]

My sister's favorite cookies are my homemade Spritz (sugar) cookies. Will the authorities allow me to bring some along with us to Australia for me to give her for a Christmas present since we'll be on the ship on Christmas? I would be happy to declare them.

And, no, I won't be bringing enough for everyone to share!!!

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Originally Posted by sassy12

My sister's favorite cookies are my homemade Spritz (sugar) cookies. Will the authorities allow me to bring some along with us to Australia for me to give her for a Christmas present since we'll be on the ship on Christmas? I would be happy to declare them.And, no, I won't be bringing enough for everyone to share!!!

I would give it a go.
BUT
definitley declare them,
and be prepared to have them taken.

They are mainly interested in anything
fresh, or anything that contains seeds
that may germinate.

If they have been processed
ie cooked....
should not be a problem.

I was told we could not bring back
wooden souveniers,
then watched the Captain of the flight walk through with heaps of wooden carvings which he declared,
they were examined and given the all clear.

As long as you put it on the card they give you on the plane ...
its up to them to decide.

I always put anything I am not sure of , in a seperate plastic type bag, declare it on the form, then hand it over and say well its up to you.

[kenish]

Getting off our flight in Melbourne there were signs saying *no* food of any type was allowed, even unopened food that was provided on the plane. They had a photo showing prohibited items including various packaged / processed foods which surprised me.

That said, I'd definitely give it a shot as I've read many anecdotes of people declaring and bringing in processed foods with no problem. Probably the "no airplane food" policy is in place so nobody can feign confusion or try to smuggle in undeclared food claiming it was from the plane.

[Australian family]

Australian customs are very big on not bringing food in, especially raw food. They will also fine and confiscate food not declared. Best to declare and take the risk. Here is a link that may provide some information. http://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/travel/e...alia/cant-take

[MMDown Under]

Yes, declare them, and have them ready in a clear bag. You may loose them, but, it is worth the risk to make your sister's day.

That little beagle Customs dog gets me every time, just from the smell of food in my bag, which I use for food snacks on my travels. The handler just looks in the bag and sees that there is no food in there and I'm on my way.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

It is very confusing for travellers.
At Sydney airport there are heaps of stores
selling Macadamia nuts wrapped in yummy chocolate.
I always buy a few packs to bring home ,
and declare them as food.
Once, I was told off by an official,
for wasting their time,
as they where OK..
Well what do you do???

[room010]

If you want to bring any food items then tick the "Yes" box in the "Are you carrying any food items" section of your Customs declaration form. When you arrive you will be directed to the Quarantine section and officers will take a look at what you have. Provided it's not raw meat or things like seeds, nuts, fresh fruit, eggs, or a half eaten burger off the plane etc they will more than likely allow you through. The people who get into trouble are those who don't declare food items. As for wooden items, provided you declare them and they are not obviously infested with bugs or other nasties you can probably bring them in too. They just want to ensure you aren't bringing anything into the country that's potentially harmful to our native flora and fauna. I doubt some home made cookies fall into that category but declare them anyway.

[The_Big_M]

I'd class home made biscuits as one of the more risky borderline items. It potentially contains prohibited items, which include things like dairy (butter, milk), eggs and is also not produced commercially so they have less information on its ingredients and preparation.

That said, if it's no trouble for you to bring and you're happy to try it, as long as you declare it you won't have any issue and it may be permitted.

[Globaliser]

Originally Posted by The_Big_M

I'd class home made biscuits as one of the more risky borderline items. It potentially contains prohibited items, which include things like dairy (butter, milk), eggs and is also not produced commercially so they have less information on its ingredients and preparation.

I agree with all of this. Commercially-produced fully-cooked items are more likely to be acceptable. Anything home-made is more likely to ring alarm bells and be refused.

But none of this really matters if you declare the items and let the Customs officers decide. The biggest transgression is not declaring food items, even if the items themselves are OK for importation.

[sassy12]

Originally Posted by Globaliser

I agree with all of this. Commercially-produced fully-cooked items are more likely to be acceptable. Anything home-made is more likely to ring alarm bells and be refused.

But none of this really matters if you declare the items and let the Customs officers decide. The biggest transgression is not declaring food items, even if the items themselves are OK for importation.

Thanks to everyone for the info. I had pretty much already decided to put them in a throw-away plastic container (so they wouldn't crumble) with the recipe taped on top and put them in my carry-on.

Guess I can quit obsessing about that now and from what I can determine, we don't need the yellow fever vaccination since we're flying directly from LA to Sydney. Can't wait to see what else pops up for me to worry about during the next 30 days! Can't wait to get to Sydney!!!!!

[MMDown Under]

Originally Posted by sassy12

Thanks to everyone for the info. I had pretty much already decided to put them in a throw-away plastic container (so they wouldn't crumble) with the recipe taped on top and put them in my carry-on.

Guess I can quit obsessing about that now and from what I can determine, we don't need the yellow fever vaccination since we're flying directly from LA to Sydney. Can't wait to see what else pops up for me to worry about during the next 30 days! Can't wait to get to Sydney!!!!!

Good idea re putting recipe on top of container in your carry-on.

Don't forget, if they aren't approved, you can always eat some yourself, before you go through Customs.

(We did this once on the border between Victoria and South Australia, with a 3kg bag of delicious oranges, which we'd just bought from a roadside farm.)

[kenish]

Originally Posted by sassy12

Guess I can quit obsessing about that now and from what I can determine, we don't need the yellow fever vaccination since we're flying directly from LA to Sydney. Can't wait to see what else pops up for me to worry about during the next 30 days! Can't wait to get to Sydney!!!!!

Assume your ETA (electronic travel authorization) is taken care of? Also try to check your bags straight through from home-SYD so you don't have to handle them at LAX. There is no luggage storage at LAX and that can be a problem especially if you have a long layover. Most major airlines except Southwest have interline baggage agreements; AA to Qantas is especially good in both directions. Call your airline to make sure.

[Landth]

In my experience at Mascot (Sydney Airport) the time taken for processing is massively shorter for those who declare items, I always declare something now, usually a food item or a small wood carving, just to queue jump

[room010]

Originally Posted by sassy12

Thanks to everyone for the info. I had pretty much already decided to put them in a throw-away plastic container (so they wouldn't crumble) with the recipe taped on top and put them in my carry-on.

Guess I can quit obsessing about that now and from what I can determine, we don't need the yellow fever vaccination since we're flying directly from LA to Sydney. Can't wait to see what else pops up for me to worry about during the next 30 days! Can't wait to get to Sydney!!!!!

Alterntively you could bake the cookies once you get here?

[mochuck]

Originally Posted by Landth

In my experience at Mascot (Sydney Airport) the time taken for processing is massively shorter for those who declare items, I always declare something now, usually a food item or a small wood carving, just to queue jump

That has been my experience too previously but not when we returned from the US in August this year. We didn't have anything to declare and got through much quicker.

[nutzo]

Having never traveled to Australia before, how strict are they with retail packaged food?

Specifically, we want to make sure we have the crackers that my DD likes. These would be in sealed retail packages.

I'd also like to bring some of some of our favorite chocolates & a few single serving boxes of cereal for the 1st morning.
Again these would all be retail sealed packages.

Would any of these be likely to be stopped (of course I would declare everything)? If so, I don’t want to waste the money & space on packaging them.

I also see that they list used water sports equipment. We are bringing our own snorkels & masks. Even though they are new, I assume I should declare them just in case?

[MMDown Under]

Originally Posted by nutzo

Having never traveled to Australia before, how strict are they with retail packaged food?

Specifically, we want to make sure we have the crackers that my DD likes. These would be in sealed retail packages.

I'd also like to bring some of some of our favorite chocolates & a few single serving boxes of cereal for the 1st morning.
Again these would all be retail sealed packages.

Would any of these be likely to be stopped (of course I would declare everything)? If so, I don’t want to waste the money & space on packaging them.

I also see that they list used water sports equipment. We are bringing our own snorkels & masks. Even though they are new, I assume I should declare them just in case?

Put all unopened packaged food in carry on, declare it on arrival, and I can't see any reason you wouldn't be OK.

You wouldn't have to declare new snorkels and masks.

If in doubt, always ask, as our Government is strict on what you can and cannot bring in.

[room010]

Declare ALL food, packaged or otherwise, go through Quarantine and be prepared to have it confiscated if it's not allowed. Personally I wouldn't use precious space and weight in my bags. You CAN buy cereal, crackers and chocolate in Australia!

[MMDown Under]

Originally Posted by room010

Declare ALL food, packaged or otherwise, go through Quarantine and be prepared to have it confiscated if it's not allowed. Personally I wouldn't use precious space and weight in my bags. You CAN buy cereal, crackers and chocolate in Australia!

Depends how fussy DD is. I wouldn't want to waste my previous travel time searching for particular foods on arrival.

[celle]

Originally Posted by nutzo

Having never traveled to Australia before, how strict are they with retail packaged food?

Specifically, we want to make sure we have the crackers that my DD likes. These would be in sealed retail packages.

I'd also like to bring some of some of our favorite chocolates & a few single serving boxes of cereal for the 1st morning.
Again these would all be retail sealed packages.

Would any of these be likely to be stopped (of course I would declare everything)? If so, I don’t want to waste the money & space on packaging them.

I also see that they list used water sports equipment. We are bringing our own snorkels & masks. Even though they are new, I assume I should declare them just in case?

Australia (and NZ) is very strict with all foodstuffs. They will come down on you like a ton of bricks - with instant fines - if you do not declare foodstuffs (it's to protect their agriculture business). Declare all food items.

I would take one packet of DD's favourite crackers and declare them - then do a sales talk number on her, about how good it is to try new foods in a new country. It's a chance to expand her food choices.

Concerning cereals, you may get through Agriculture with packets, but probably not if they contain dried fruits or nuts. We once declared a packet of meusli, and Agriculture opened it and declared it not acceptable because of the dried fruit in it.

All that said, as someone else pointed out, you can buy foodstuffs in Australia - and often very similar to what you buy in the US.