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An unidentified man tried to haul a couple of year’s supply of biltong over to the US but he was caught before he could even unpack. Or, he turned himself in, more like.

The South African traveller who sought to take a few snacks into America ended up as a lesson in biosecurity, News24 reported, with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency releasing details of the misdemeanour.

The man arrived at the hub airport, Minneapolis-St. Paul International, and could easily have kept on walking, risking it for the biscuit, but instead, he decided to do the right thing and declare his load of meat to the border agents.

He must have thought that since the biltong is cured and vacuum-packed, it wouldn’t be a problem, but the US was having absolutely none of it.

When the formal inspection swung into action and his five bags of “organic content” x-rayed, the border agency described the man as having “83 pounds of beef biltong”, or just about 38 kilograms.

The agency said some of the beef was “curried”, likely an American misunderstanding of the function of chilli in biltong, and a photo it released seems to show the haul included droëwors. But the details did not matter. Nor did the value.

“The passenger requested that the meat not be seized because it cost over $2 000”, the equivalent of some R37 000, said the customs agency, in a description that probably does not capture the full flavour of the interaction.

That cost is high in South Africa, with a mass-retail upper rate of between R600 and R700 per kg for biltong. Meanwhile, in the USA, biltong sells for closer to R2 000 per kg.

Agents “informed him that cured and dried beef from South Africa was restricted due to animal diseases, including Foot and Mouth Disease, and it would be seized and destroyed via steam sterilisation.”

Airports often destroy food in this fashion, but hardly any of it is as valuable as genuine SA biltong. The US Customs and Border Protection agency wants everyone to know that even vacuum-packed meat won’t make it through:

“Our nation’s food supply is constantly at risk to diseases not known to occur in the United States,” Augustine Moore, area port director for Minneapolis, said in a statement. “This interception highlights the vigilance and dedication that our CBP Agriculture Specialists demonstrate, daily. They ensure that the United States is safe from harmful diseases that could affect our food supply.”

What a monumental waste. That oke should have just stayed home to chow his biltong, man.

[source:news24]