crossing the borders (food & fuel)

sue.t wrote:
The origin of the fruit is not a factor. We've had California oranges taken from us when crossing from Canada to the USA.

The agents don't care where the product was grown. They do care about where it has been.

I'm sorry that isn't true. The case of oranges is specifically discussed on the US Border Protection website. Fruits that are grown in Canada can be brought into the US, but, since oranges don't grow there, you can't bring them into the US unless you can show they were grown in the US in the first place.

There are lots of foods that can be brought into the US from Canada that wouldn't be allowed if they came from other companies.

Here's the official website that describes what you can bring back into the US from Canada (about halfway down the page):

What food can I bring into the US?

The Canadian rules for taking food into their country are here:
What food can I bring into Canada?

canadafan wrote:
If you spend $35 you get $0.05 discount off gas at Safeway spend more and get more discount but I don't remember how the scale goes.

Try to get a SAGA visa card there are no charges for foreign transactions.

Trevor

Thanks, Trevor
We already have our Saga cards, and are working towards Travellex currency cards for Cash and use as Debit Visa card. We will be in WA as well and have Caxton Cards, which are similar, for US$.
Rates checked today and are equivalent if not better than Bank of Canada rates.

If you spend $35 you get $0.05 discount off gas at Safeway spend more and get more discount but I don't remember how the scale goes.

Try to get a SAGA visa card there are no charges for foreign transactions.

Trevor

I don't agree that the food prices are the same in the US and Canada. Somethings are, but many things are not. Dairy, such as cheese is one thing that is much cheaper in the US. Most of the junk food items, such as soda and potato chips are the same prices. You will find a larger variety of items in the USA.

I wouldn't cross over just for the food, but I would for gas (which is much cheaper) and just to say I was in the US if I was coming from the UK!

Enjoy your trip.

canadafan wrote:
If you buy your groceries at Safeway Canada you can earn up to $0.10 per litre discount on gas.

Any idea how much you have to spend?

This is where the query in OP originated. Found on US Customs & border protection site.

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/82/kw/fruit%20from%20Canada

"Fruits and vegetables grown in Canada are generally admissible, if they have labels identifying them as products of Canada."

I also found something on ehow indicating fruit in season should not be a problem but I guess that it is better not to take anything rather than risk losing it.

PackerBacker wrote:

Islandman wrote:
Must be new regs on bringing fruit from BC down to WA, for the past few years we make an annual trip up to the Oakanogan area (Penticton, Peachland, etc) and bring back several boxes of peaches to freeze. Never had any problems at the US border when coming back home. Have brought tomatoes back from BC also, no problem.

I guess it's different out west, here in the east we cannot cross fruits or vegetables that have not been processed or frozen. We go back and forth a couple times a week and continue to get the question about fresh fruit & veggies.

I don't know how long the regs have been in place or the exact types of fruits and Vegies going in to Wash state are permitted or not, or how long these regs have been on the books, all I can say is that I can't recall when it started but it is there now.
About a month ago I went across the boarder at Waneta to pick up a parcel. I had left work early and hadn't eaten my lunch. While waiting in the line at at the boarder I read a sign beside the road leading up to the Customs building. It clearly said what fruits and Vegies they were not going to allow.
When I got up to the window after all the questions he asked, I told him I still had my lunch which had a orange an apple and some carrot sticks.......... He said even if the fruit is labeled grown in the USA you can't take it back into the states, he didn't say anything about the carrot sticks. He then said that since I was only going to the store which is about a 1/4 mile away and coming right back he wouldn't take my lunch.
Again on Saturday we went across the line to pick up a parcel and were asked the same questions again on what types of food we have if any on board, as well as all the other items they ask about.
So I would say you were either lucky or they allow peaches into Wash State from BC.

Soup.

Islandman wrote:
Must be new regs on bringing fruit from BC down to WA, for the past few years we make an annual trip up to the Oakanogan area (Penticton, Peachland, etc) and bring back several boxes of peaches to freeze. Never had any problems at the US border when coming back home. Have brought tomatoes back from BC also, no problem.

I guess it's different out west, here in the east we cannot cross fruits or vegetables that have not been processed or frozen. We go back and forth a couple times a week and continue to get the question about fresh fruit & veggies.

Must be new regs on bringing fruit from BC down to WA, for the past few years we make an annual trip up to the Oakanogan area (Penticton, Peachland, etc) and bring back several boxes of peaches to freeze. Never had any problems at the US border when coming back home. Have brought tomatoes back from BC also, no problem.

Good point about the rate Gary, but maybe there isn't anything they can do about it. On a couple of previous visits by friends from the UK, I was amazed at the rate they had to pay for their travellers cheques and cash when they bought them in the UK. They bought them in different places and the rates were similar, so it wasnt an error.
I cannot remember the actual rate but it was something like 1.42, so each pound got them $1.42Cdn. This would be their banks Cdn. Selling rate, so this would be similar to the rate applied when a Visa transaction came through, LESS maybe the extra2-3%. I then contacted my bank who would pay them $1.68Cdn. for each pound!