Is it legal to bring back cheese and vegetables from Tijuana into San Diego for one's personal use?

Question

I live close to the US Mexico border on the US side and would like to be able to go shopping occasionally if possible.

Answer 1

It's not a simple "yes" or "no" answer.

For non-commercial importation of food products, border inspectors are tasked to determine is a food item is safe and/or does it pose a risk to US agriculture. If they believe it's safe, it can go through. If they believe it's not safe, then it's prohibited.

Some concerns re food safety include pesticide or lead contamination or bacterial contamination. Other concerns are if the food might contain pests that would be destructive to crops.

Meats and eggs must be sealed airtight to be allowed in the US even if it is labeled with US point of origin.

Anything originating in an area known to have Mediterranean Fruit Flies won't make it in.

Dairy products like cheese should be ok.

Most, but not all, fruits and vegetables are allowed.

However, keep in mind that California growers are crazy paranoid (with some justification) of insect infestations ruining their crops, so there are always new proposals about limiting food imports. During MedFly quarantines, that's even included prohibitions against taking lunch bags of oranges between San Diego and Orange County. So what's ok today may be forbidden tomorrow.

Answer 2

I actually would not recommend it both because California does not allow fruits & Veggies to be brought in due to pest control laws, not to mention Mexican produce is not up to the same standards as that of US produce. Overall, stick to American produce, after all you get what you pay for.

Answer 3

Its ok to do.