NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Twenty pounds of swine meat and 30 containers of edible bird nests were seized by agents at JFK Airport this week, authorities announced Thursday.
The meat and bird nests were seized from a passenger arriving on a flight from China on Monday, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The passenger declared the meat to a CBP agriculture specialist, but it was later found to be prohibited, according to authorities, who didn’t say why the meat wasn’t allowed.
The containers of bird nests, which weren’t declared by the passenger, were later uncovered by agents, authorities said. Bird nests are used around the world as a food delicacy.
According to CBP, bird nests are prohibited in passenger baggage because “they lack the proper documentation and safeguards to ensure they do not pose a risk to U.S. agriculture.”
The meat and the bird nests were seized and safeguarded for destruction, while the passenger was issued a mitigated civil penalty for failing to declare he or she was in possession of the prohibited bird nests, authorities said.
“This latest seizure highlights the vigilance and dedication to duty that our CBP Agriculture Specialists demonstrate daily to ensure that the United States is safe from unregulated food products entering our country that could potentially cause grave damage to our agricultural and economic vitality,” said Troy Miller, director of field operations at CBP’s New York Field Office.
The seizure comes the same week that authorities at Newark Airport announced they had seized nearly 9 pounds of illegal “bushmeat” from a passenger arriving from Ghana.
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