i have only been getting caught now and then sending kinder eggs which are banned by the old FDA due to their rules about food only containing food and the toys being choking hazards.

but i have sent much chocolate to the US since moving here.

biggest request i have for gifts!

Curiously, has anyone had any experience with shipping chocolates to the US more recently (I see this is an old thread)? I was hoping to send a box to my mother and one to my sister for Xmas this year. Each box is 445 grams. I actually had no idea that it was prohibited until I (thankfully) did a search and came across this thread.

Apparently not allowed by US regulations. I was told when doing customs declaration at the post that no commestible stuff allowed through post.

Thanks.

Ugh... Now I have two huge boxes of chocolates that I'm not sure what to do with.

I guess I'll just have to eat them all.

Need company?

Strange but as you say, it must not be enforced uniformly across the board. I have sent chocolate to the US many times and it has always arrived without incident (Last time was even during confinement in April/May)

I was thinking to do this again for the holidays but surprised to come across this

I knew the US bans Kinder Eggs (and Haggis!) but I didn’t know they banned all chocolate.

Everyone does this. But that's what post guys told me.

If there is any food sent from CH, it is chocolate.

Could always save them and take them with you on your next trip over to see them. I took 3.5kgs of Villars chocolate bars over with me to give to friends last year.

Last I looked, about 9 months ago, it was not prohibited but you have to now jump through additional sanitary hurdles, i.e. go through FDA and file a particular form, with details on the manufacturer etc.; it applies to most foodstuffs, including chocolate. The carrier, la Poste, or whoever may say its banned as they do not know, or can't be bothered with the hassle. But if you press them on it and have the form it should not be a problem. About to go through it again this year, so will post details if things are different.

For example, LaPoste sends you to this FDA site to register and do the prior notice process. www.access.fda.gov/oaa

Details on LaPoste website: Foodstuffs: Customers wishing to send, for commercial purposes or as a gift, foods destined for human or animal consumption, food supplements, vitamins, food additives or colourings (this list is not exhaustive) may do so provided the following procedure is observed:
The sender must register at the following website: www.access.fda.gov/oaa
The sender must then submit a request in the form of a prior notice (also at www.access.fda.gov/oaa to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He or she must complete a web entry to announce the actual mailing and a prior notice for each item mailed and to announce the item's content.
The FDA will then issue the sender with a 12-digit confirmation number (Prior Notice Confirmation Number) for the goods to be mailed, which must be noted on the commercial invoice, the waybill or the customs declaration form (CN 22 or CN 23). A separate prior notice must be completed for each item

I never knew about this rule. I have sent chocolates to NJ at least 5 times in the past two years and they arrived at the destination without any issues. Each shipment close to 1kg with packaging.

AFAIK it's only homemade foods that are not allowed. Commercially packaged chocolates with clear origins and ingredient lists (Lindt, Callier, for example) are fine so long as you're not sending a quantity that would allow the person to open a shop.

Wouldn't it solve the problem to lie on the declaration form? I'm normallya rule follower, but that seems harmless to me.

But will it travel well? Mine did Canada ->CH, and the individual pieces arrived in one block of a huge mess. Luckily it was contained by the sealed package.

I'm with 3Wishes on this one - as long as it is clear who the manufacturer is, and the package is sealed, it shouldn't be a problem.

https://www.fda.gov/food/importing-f...t-prior-notice
states the following:

NON-COMMERCIAL SHIPMENTS arriving by International Mail

Non-commercial shipments of food arriving in the United States by international mail are generally subject to prior notice requirements. However, since June 2004, the agencies have been exercising enforcement discretion. FDA and CBP should typically consider not taking any regulatory action when an article of food is imported or offered for import for non-commercial purposes with a non-commercial shipper. Generally, a non-commercial purpose is when the food is purchased or otherwise acquired by an individual for non-business purposes and the shipper is an individual (e.g., the individual delivers the food to a post office or common carrier for delivery to self, family member, or friend for non-business purposes, i.e., not for sale, resale, barter, business use, or commercial use.) Examples of foods imported or offered for import that may be covered by this non-commercial category are:

food in household goods, including military, civilian, governmental agency, and diplomatic transfers;
food purchased by a traveler and mailed or shipped to the traveler's U.S. address by the traveler;
gifts purchased at a commercial establishment and shipped by the purchaser, not the commercial establishment.
The shipper and the carrier are different entities, and the carrier is likely to be a commercial entity even when the shipper is an individual. Thus, the food for non-commercial purposes may arrive by international mail or any other mode of transportation, but must be shipped by one individual to another individual (self, family member, or friend) to be considered for non-commercial purposes. For example, when an individual purchases food at Store A and sends that food to an individual by mail, the individual is the shipper and the carrier is the mail service. However, if Store A ships the food, Store A is the shipper. Since Store A is not an individual, this last example is not covered by the criteria because the food was not imported or offered for import with a non-commercial shipper. (While a "person" sometimes can be an individual, partnership, corporation, or association, see 21 U.S.C. 321(e), by "individual" we mean a human being, not a partnership, corporation, or association.) see Compliance Policy Guide, Prior Notice of Imported Food Under the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002.

And any that contains alcohol.

Tom

The bellies of passenger aircraft and the holds of air-freighters are kept at an ambient temperatures of around 6-8C. If there are live animals on board the temperatures can be raised to 16-18C.

So chocolate should travel well when shipped by air. But it is when being processed on the ground, and customs delays, that can result in overheating of that precious stuff.

Caveat Emptor

Reminds me that husband's employer thought it would be nice to send their staff a bar of chocolate via Swiss Post. Unfortunately they decided to do this in high summer in just an ordinary envelope so even though I went to get the post from the box shortly after the post person had delivered it was still pretty melted. Shoved it in the fridge asap, but it never fully recovered.

Madness

Thanks. I had asked the woman at Laderach if she thought the chocolates would ship okay to the US this time of year, and she said that it should. I wouldn't ship it somewhere warm like Florida or southern California, though. But hopefully to Michigan this time of year, it would be okay. I'm tempted to give it a try and just write "candy - gift" on the customs form. I just hope that my sister wouldn't have to pay any customs to receive it. I can't remember what the laws are in the US regarding the maximum value before customs or VAT has to be paid by the recipient.

Does anyone know?