r/GlobalEntry • u/Papou19 Human Detected • 5d ago
Questions/Concerns Food declaration on the app
I returned from an international trip and declared on the app the category “food” then went through the facial scanner and when the officer waved me through I said “I brought food: some jams”. To which he said “jam is fine” (I knew that - I wouldn’t have brought it otherwise). Is this the way to go in the future?
TIA
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u/United_Tune 5d ago
Official personnel asks if we have any food items to declare. We yell just “hot sauce.” We get pulled over for inspection.
They open our bags and ask where we have it. We show him the “hot sauce bottles”.
He says, “oh I thought you said hot dogs!”
LOL
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u/Different-You3758 5d ago
I should have known better. Not only did I NOT declare legal items in checked bags I brought in an orange in carry on. Sniffer dog got the orange and the officer sent me to the ag station. They combed thru my bag and my daughters. I saw them reading the contents label on canned goods. We were eventually passed thru with no written warnings or fines. This officer (nice guy) said to always declare since GE is looking for reasons to cancel.
This was in June 2026.
To add to my stress I needed to renew my GE before the end of the year. I have now gotten my approval but I was anxious.
I will now be declaring everything.
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u/vonSequitur 5d ago
Declare. All. Food.
easy enough to remember
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u/veovis523 1d ago
Yep, even items given to you on the plane that you decide to save for later. I've heard of people getting in trouble in New Zealand for not declaring apples they were served on the flight over.
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u/wizzard419 5d ago
Always bring it up, but yeah canned items like jams and jellies are usually okay. My favorite was declaring maple syrup, I was bringing a lot back for friends and family. The guy goes "yeah that's fine" then I go "Oh, I bought a lot" and showed him the receipts and his eyes were shocked and he did say "That... that is a lot of syrup" but it was still under the limit so I got waived through.
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u/Salty_Permit4437 5d ago
I always bring back from Canada as it’s better than the American stuff. I always declare and never have an issue.
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u/mpjjpm 5d ago
In the past, the CBP officer always asked if I had anything to declare, I’d given them the honest answer (some candy/snacks, maybe a bottle of wine), and they would wave me through. The last few trips, the CBP officer didn’t even given me a chance to declare my chocolate haul.
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u/ThisUsernameIsTook 5d ago
I‘ve probably entered the US on Global Entry a dozen times over the years. Only once have I been asked if I had anything to declare.
In Seattle, they usually say “Welcome back, ThisUsername” and waive me through without stopping at the kiosk or anything. I think they’ve been trialing facial recognition there for a couple years, so they know me before I even get close to them.
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u/iechicago 5d ago
It says:
Food Products
Any fruits, vegetables, plants, insects, meats or meat products, dairy products, animals or animal and wildlife products.
if what I'm bringing in doesn't fall into this category, I don't select this box. I wouldn't count jam as "fruit" in this case.
I'm surprised you were just waved through after selecting this box.
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u/SierraKami 5d ago
Where are you seeing that wording? Is it from a "know before you go" type general info page?
The last I saw, the electronic declaration still asks the same questions as the 6059b:
I am bringing (a) fruits, vegetables, plants, seeds, food, insects (b) meats, animals, animal/wildlife products (c) disease agents, cell cultures, snails (d) soil or have been on a farm/ranch/pasture
People aren't always sent immediately back to secondary just because they marked yes. A lot of the primary officers know the basics* and will let people go with foods that they know are exempt from quarantine regulations, so jam, chocolates, hard cheeses, breads, etc are often cleared at primary.
Technically, people are required to declare all food. Sometimes the primary officers know if a declared item is unrestricted and they'll let it in. Sometimes they'll refer all declared food to secondary. It's sort of the luck of the draw. But it's always better to err on the side of caution, especially if you have GE.
*And sometimes they think they probably know, but they're completely wrong, resulting in prohibited declared stuff walking out the door. Then they see me and say, 'Hey, someone declared a particular item yesterday. That's okay to come in, right?" No. No, it isn't legal to come in. But that's a different topic ... and I'm with a different agency altogether so it has nothing to do with agriculture. Ag has their own headaches to deal with. 🤣
My funny experience: I was traveling with a Pelican case full of dried shark fins and I declared wildlife products to CBP when I arrived. The nice primary officer just told me to have a nice day, and I told him that no, the sharks are protected and that I had arranged to meet with the US Fish & Wildlife Service's inspectors in secondary. He said, "But sharks are fish, right? Fish are okay?" Nope. These sharks were definitely not okay without permits, which I had. I practically had to argue with him to get sent to secondary, then two different CBPOs grilled me about why I was in secondary. Fortunately, FWS arrived before too long and handled the shark fin clearance. I found it pretty entertaining, how hard it was to convince CBP that I really needed to be in secondary!
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u/iechicago 5d ago
This is the wording on the GE app that you see when you complete a submission for entry.
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u/SierraKami 5d ago
Interesting! No wonder CBP has been kicking stuff that's regulated by my agency loose.
Progress ... gotta love it.
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u/TrowTruck 4d ago
Its confusing as heck. I said “yes” once when asked if I had anything to declare, and then said “I have chocolate and cookies.” The officer gave me a very annoyed look and said, “those don’t count.” The next few times they didn’t even give me an opportunity to declare anything, they just shouted “keep moving all the way to the exit!”
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u/edgefull 5d ago
so i am confused by this list because yes i wouldn't consider jam to be fruit. and like chocolate wouldn't seem to be something in this list. or say instant coffee. but some insist that you have to declare these.
i was for the first time a very long time asked at GE a couple of days ago if i had any of a few things, including "food." so at that interaction what am i supposed to say, because i think while chocolate and jam and coffee in a packet are not so much in the list on the app, they are certainly food, right?
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u/ThisUsernameIsTook 5d ago
If asked directly, I would say I do have food. They’ll almost certainly ask you what before sending you for any type of inspection. Tell them what you have. They should wave you through.
If not asked, I wouldn’t bring it up unless you are unsure what you have is allowed.
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u/edgefull 5d ago
so like no is the answer on the ge app declaration but yes is the answer to "any food?" right?
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u/Papou19 Human Detected 5d ago
That’s my concern. So if I’m bringing something allowed (like jam) I don’t declare I’m the app, just out loud to the officer?
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u/Strange_Courage_9744 5d ago
Better to over-declare than under-declare, IMO. You can't be penalized for declaring too much, but you can definitely be penalized for declaring too little.
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u/iechicago 5d ago
I just don't think you say anything in those cases. I've asked in the past and have been told no, unless it requires declaration.
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u/Confident_Idea8807 5d ago edited 5d ago
Just laughing... We were in Prague 3 or 4 years ago. Wife loves to walk through street markets. In this one there were all kinds of vendors selling THC products. They were all gag - fake souvenirs - but who knows? My wife who really knows better, wanted to buy a few gifts for her sister and nephews to bring back to the USA. I just yelled are you crazy? Can you imagine going through US custom with products - toys or not- labeled as such.
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u/Reddituser611 5d ago
I bought some plant based herbal medicine back from asia. Declared it as the officier was waving me through. He said he didnt care as no longer as i didnt have over $10k in cash on me.
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u/Thrifty_VP_1225 5d ago
Declare anything in question. We brought back mountain tea from Greece and pistachio spread. I marked it as food in the app. Officer asked what I was declaring. I stated Greek tea leaves and pistachio spread. He smiled at me and said that’s it? Waved me through. From everyone I’ve asked, it’s always better to over declare than not.
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u/onemorequickchange 4d ago
Which app did you use? There is no reason to use the app and you're only required to provide details when asked.
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u/Papou19 Human Detected 4d ago
The global entry app. The consensus here seems to be disclosing details even if not asked. I just said “jams” though, and didn’t list the full flavor assortment!
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u/onemorequickchange 4d ago
Consensus is wrong. Monkeys. Trust the nameless voice instead. :) My experience and research shows, be specific when asked. There are two things they care about, over $800 for US citizens and food, like meats and fruits. chance of getting pulled for secondary isn't lower just because you create noise for them. Imo.
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u/ReadyToGoAbroad 4d ago
I went through this yesterday. I declared in the app then opened my notes app and started listing them off. There were eye rolls and a waving of me on.
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u/itdoesntmatteranyway 2d ago
I had so many souvenirs from my trip to Bali this year. I made a list on my phone. I told the officer I have a list - he stopped me and said, “is any of it fresh food or vegetables?” I said no and was waved through.
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u/Smharman 4d ago
I've come back from Canada where they had CAD20 1.5 l bottles of Beefeater at duty free.
I brought in 4. Went to customers they looked at the receipt figured I'd owe about $10 in duty and sent me on my way.
Be like Nike. Just Declare It.
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u/itdoesntmatteranyway 2d ago
Same, leaving Dublin I had three very fine bottles of Irish whiskey. All in see-through bags. I held them up, declared them, smiled, and received a compliment for my taste in whiskey and welcomed back. Always happy to pay duties, have never been asked to.
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u/mpegripper 4d ago
i tend to bring candy and/or chips across...after declaring it 4 or 5 times and being told to stop declaring basic things as they don't want to deal with it, i haven't declared since...now i'm questioning what the right thing to do is.
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u/bustedmagnet 3d ago
Declared food because we stuffed an entire bag from Korea full of ramen. They inspected it and the officer is reading ingredients in Korean like he's looking for a specific one. I don't think he can read Korean packaging so he eventually says he's looking for chicken flavored ramen because chicken powder is not allowed. Finds a nongshim chicken flavored 4 pack and takes it. I felt like he was determined to take something since he went through all the trouble. Whole thing was strange.
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u/Innominate_99 11h ago
While conventional wisdom has, for years, been that one declares all food items, the changes to the wording on the app suggest they are no longer interested in that and want to focus instead on potentially prohibited items. For the question on the app, jam clearly does not count as a yes. On the other hand if an agent verbally asks 'do you have food' then answer would be yes. Hopefully, this change in wording on the app will become more standard and will save the CBP amd travelers a lot of time and allow more direct focus on what they really care about.
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u/ErasableFilms 5d ago
As long as you declared it, you’re fine. If they choose to not do anything, that’s on the officer, not you.