Customs confiscated entire order! - Page 2

**carolyn137** · March 31, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by JerryHaskins

What about "Seeds from Italy"?

I got my seeds from them with no problems.

Do their seeds not really come from Italy?

Yes their seeds come from Italy, from Franchi,and sold in the US.

http://www.growitalian.com/

If you read about us at the website you'll see that it was originally started by Bill,and that was in MA,and I knew him well,but he wanted to retire,did so,and sold the company to the folks in Kansas.

Phytos are necessary to get shipment from Italy,but that's not a problem for large commercial companies sending to companies in the US.

Same goes for all the tomato varieties bred in the Netherlands and Israel and Japan and China,etc,sending to US commercial places.

Carolyn

Father'sDaughter · April 1, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Yes their seeds come from Italy, from Franchi,and sold in the US.

http://www.growitalian.com/

If you read about us at the website you'll see that it was originally started by Bill,and that was in MA,and I knew him well,but he wanted to retire,did so,and sold the company to the folks in Kansas.

Phytos are necessary to get shipment from Italy,but that's not a problem for large commercial companies sending to companies in the US.

Same goes for all the tomato varieties bred in the Netherlands and Israel and Japan and China,etc,sending to US commercial places.

Carolyn

I'm on their mailing list and I recall a message from the new owners a year or two after they took over for Bill, who lived just a few towns away from me. That particular year the new owners had their big annual shipment from Franchi arrive in NY without the proper documentation and if I recall, customs sent it all right back to Italy. So even the big guys have had their issues in the past, but as Carolyn says, it's worth their while to play by the rules to get their big shipments in.

ginger2778 · April 1, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhippoorwillG

Richter's was of course very cooperative. They assured my wife that they insert phyto-certs in all orders, but she was the second customer recently to have the same exact issue.

They are going to reship the order, but are working with my wife to see where the error was. Read below and see it appears to be DHLS.

Of special interest and curious note: Upon Richter's request, we inspected the envelope and noted a large orange sticker from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirming that it had been inspected and complied with all phyto-sanitary requirements of the United States.

It was shipped from Canada on 3/4. Shipped to us empty with USDA notice with date of 3/24 from MIAMI and DHLS tape on the envelope(which I didn't notice at first). I think we might have narrowed the geographic source of the issue. The notice said contents destroyed because they were prohibited, and that there was no psc.

Oh, that's very interesting. Our Florida friend's seeds were confiscated out of Miami too.

ginger2778 · April 1, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhines81

Friends of mine have ordered so many 'legal/illegal' items from overseas without issues that I think it is just a matter of 'X' shipments out of 'so many' that actually get sampled by customs. Personally, I will not order anything from out of the country, but I travel extensively and if I find some pepper or tomato seeds that spark my interest, which is not very often, I just hand carry them back with me and have never had an issue.

Please, hand carry how? If you feel more comfortable, pm this info. I travel too, but I see those cute beagles in the airport!

drew51 · April 1, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginger2778

Please, hand carry how? If you feel more comfortable, pm this info. I travel too, but I see those cute beagles in the airport!

Are they not for drugs? If a dog smells for drugs, it's not going to detect other plants.

ginger2778 · April 1, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by drew51

Are they not for drugs? If a dog smells for drugs, it's not going to detect other plants.

See, that's just it, I dont know what all they are trained for. Is it only drugs? Dogs are pretty intelligent and trainable.

bower · April 1, 2016

Our local TV station has been running a 'reality' type show called "Border Patrol" I think. Typical low budget filler of course, but I've watched it a couple of times and it is an eye opener. Agricultural and food products are seriously a no-no, a big part of their searches, and yes they have dogs trained to sniff for ag products, both meats and vegetables.

Yes there are suitcases full of sausages

but I've also seen people busted for garlic in the luggage. Anything grown elsewhere that could carry a disease or pest that might find its way back into the field is strictly prohibited. If not declared, huge fines apply!

Now and then they run the US version of the same, and if anything they are more suspicious and picky than on our side. Although there may have been less 'food-related' stories in the one I saw.

However with all of the "ag" busts and sniffing, I've never seen anyone busted for seeds.

I just don't think a small packet of dry cleaned seed is an issue, although something like beans could be, since beetles can hide inside em.

Cole_Robbie · April 1, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

is a form of protectionism.

That's a good point. We live in a time when free trade agreements are running the show. Safety is one of the few protectionist policies still allowable.

drew51 · April 1, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginger2778

See, that's just it, I dont know what all they are trained for. Is it only drugs? Dogs are pretty intelligent and trainable.

Yes, you're right, but odds are they are for drugs. I always thought of just having a few seeds loose in your pocket. You just need enough to start one plant, 3 or 4.

drew51 · April 1, 2016

I would add we are careful for very good reason. The Great Lakes has over 100 foreign species now. The Spotted Wing Drosophila and the Japanese beetles were brought over in plant material. It's crazy NOT to restrict plant material. I grow figs and every fig cutting sold on Ebay to this country from another country will result with a knock on your door from a government man. Whole fig collections were threatened to be taken because of exposure from the foreign cuttings. In the fig forums you will see warning after warning not to buy figs from other countries on EBay.

Here in Michigan, we sell lot's of blueberries and many cultivars are not allowed in the state till they have been totally tested to rule out any possible harm to the existing crops. I want Darrow, but can't get it here. Sweetheart was finally approved after about 7 years.

Many states still ban black currants, or have restrictions. Here they have to be resistant to white pine rust or they are not allowed. We want to protect our white pines which were almost wiped out about 100 years ago.

oakley · April 1, 2016

I'm guessing it is more of a lottery type of checking like mentioned. Or who is checking that day or a random day where a pup is used.

Quote:

a 'reality' type show called "Border Patrol"

Don't think i want to see that. We cross the border a few times a year and have not had much trouble. For about 15 yrs now. It is usually the personality of the border patrol guy and again the lottery if they want to further check. They always check our coolers and i only recall them taking garlic. If peeled and bottled no problem. We travel with lots of food both directions since NFLD does not have food,

Anything holding potential soil is a no-no. Cars go through a hose-down like a car wash, leaving the island.

But that's driving, not flying or shipping. Seeds should not be an issue so that's confusing.

**carolyn137** · April 1, 2016

Do you know that one of our Tville members,named Ed,he hasn't posted lately,was originally a commercial tomato grower in NJ,but then sold out and became a border guard with Homeland Security on the boundry betweeen NYS and Vt.

When I initially dehybridized Ramapo F1 I sent the F2 or F3 seeds to Ed,and he said he saw no difference between what I had sent and the original F1,which he had been growing on his NJ tomato farm and it makes sense since it had only two parents and both were known.Last I knew the OP was at the F9 and all was well.

Well I remember when the folks who gave me seeds for Opalka were coming from Canada to NYS and he recognized the name Opalka and asked if they were related to the tomato varierty named Opalka, and yes,they were.

He certainly had some interesting stories to tell about intercepting this and that and confiscating it.

Carolyn

oakley · April 1, 2016

So when i cross the border next week and his name is Ed, i should keep my mouth shut

I've crossed with a ton of seeds and 50lbs of blush tomatoes and ghost pepper salami, etc...to share and trade with friends and neighbors...(and get in return a 25b box of king crab legs from a commercial fisherman friend who LOVES tomatoes). He would bring up a dozen at a time from cool storage and had them all lined up in his kitchen watching them ripen and ate them like apples...adorable.

In all seriousness i can see the problems with contamination of soils crossing or introducing disease. In fact i recall a garlic issue a few years ago via suppliers sending off troubled stock. I always see in nursery on-line catalogs where some saplings cannot be sent to certain states.

If a person is sending another person a flat package of seeds as if a common correspondence, it would not bring up a red flag or even necessarily be wrong or dangerous. A return address from a nursery might raise an eyebrow if noticed.

SueCT · April 1, 2016

I wonder if the first inspection station removed the certificate for some reason and it got left behind, so it wasn't there at the second stop. I have ordered from Richter's several times and never had the problem, although twice Richter's contacted me to say my payment had been denied because my local bank refused to process a transaction from outside the country.

bower · April 1, 2016

It's certainly true that pests and diseases can cross borders in shipped or carried goods, and it makes perfect sense to prevent that.
On the other hand though, it surprises me that there are many issues between Canada and the US, which is essentially one continuous land mass. Pests and diseases really don't know about our "borders" they will cross a political boundary no problem at all and regularly do. This is where I start to wonder, why so much fuss between us.

For the island it's different, there's been a prohibition on shipping out potatoes from here for decades because at some point in history, there was an outbreak of potato scab, and so they wanted to protect the mainland from it. Yet we get imported potatoes in the stores here, with scab on it sometimes and every other kind of disease. Blight included.

Still the prohibition is so old it has just stayed in place.

We have certain pests such as the Spruce budworm that sometimes wreak havoc here, although in fact they can't survive the winter here at all. Every spring they blow across from Nova Scotia.

April 1, 2016	#25
drew51 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Sterling Heights, MI Zone 6a/5b Posts: 1,302	I would add we are careful for very good reason. The Great Lakes has over 100 foreign species now. The Spotted Wing Drosophila and the Japanese beetles were brought over in plant material. It's crazy NOT to restrict plant material. I grow figs and every fig cutting sold on Ebay to this country from another country will result with a knock on your door from a government man. Whole fig collections were threatened to be taken because of exposure from the foreign cuttings. In the fig forums you will see warning after warning not to buy figs from other countries on EBay. Here in Michigan, we sell lot's of blueberries and many cultivars are not allowed in the state till they have been totally tested to rule out any possible harm to the existing crops. I want Darrow, but can't get it here. Sweetheart was finally approved after about 7 years. Many states still ban black currants, or have restrictions. Here they have to be resistant to white pine rust or they are not allowed. We want to protect our white pines which were almost wiped out about 100 years ago. Last edited by drew51; April 1, 2016 at 10:16 AM.

April 1, 2016	#27
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	Do you know that one of our Tville members,named Ed,he hasn't posted lately,was originally a commercial tomato grower in NJ,but then sold out and became a border guard with Homeland Security on the boundry betweeen NYS and Vt. When I initially dehybridized Ramapo F1 I sent the F2 or F3 seeds to Ed,and he said he saw no difference between what I had sent and the original F1,which he had been growing on his NJ tomato farm and it makes sense since it had only two parents and both were known.Last I knew the OP was at the F9 and all was well. Well I remember when the folks who gave me seeds for Opalka were coming from Canada to NYS and he recognized the name Opalka and asked if they were related to the tomato varierty named Opalka, and yes,they were. He certainly had some interesting stories to tell about intercepting this and that and confiscating it. Carolyn __________________ Carolyn

April 1, 2016	#22
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,794	Our local TV station has been running a 'reality' type show called "Border Patrol" I think. Typical low budget filler of course, but I've watched it a couple of times and it is an eye opener. Agricultural and food products are seriously a no-no, a big part of their searches, and yes they have dogs trained to sniff for ag products, both meats and vegetables. Yes there are suitcases full of sausages but I've also seen people busted for garlic in the luggage. Anything grown elsewhere that could carry a disease or pest that might find its way back into the field is strictly prohibited. If not declared, huge fines apply! Now and then they run the US version of the same, and if anything they are more suspicious and picky than on our side. Although there may have been less 'food-related' stories in the one I saw. However with all of the "ag" busts and sniffing, I've never seen anyone busted for seeds. I just don't think a small packet of dry cleaned seed is an issue, although something like beans could be, since beetles can hide inside em.

April 1, 2016	#28
oakley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: NewYork 5a Posts: 2,303	So when i cross the border next week and his name is Ed, i should keep my mouth shut I've crossed with a ton of seeds and 50lbs of blush tomatoes and ghost pepper salami, etc...to share and trade with friends and neighbors...(and get in return a 25b box of king crab legs from a commercial fisherman friend who LOVES tomatoes). He would bring up a dozen at a time from cool storage and had them all lined up in his kitchen watching them ripen and ate them like apples...adorable. In all seriousness i can see the problems with contamination of soils crossing or introducing disease. In fact i recall a garlic issue a few years ago via suppliers sending off troubled stock. I always see in nursery on-line catalogs where some saplings cannot be sent to certain states. If a person is sending another person a flat package of seeds as if a common correspondence, it would not bring up a red flag or even necessarily be wrong or dangerous. A return address from a nursery might raise an eyebrow if noticed.

April 1, 2016	#29
SueCT Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Connecticut Posts: 1,460	I wonder if the first inspection station removed the certificate for some reason and it got left behind, so it wasn't there at the second stop. I have ordered from Richter's several times and never had the problem, although twice Richter's contacted me to say my payment had been denied because my local bank refused to process a transaction from outside the country.