As the Bay Area's many diverse communities gear up for All Souls' Day, festivities may be subdued by a reminder from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Laredo Field Office regarding prohibited agricultural items. In the spirit of Día de los Muertos, families typically bring offerings and decorate altars with plants and fruits to honor their departed loved ones, some of which could introduce harmful pests and diseases such as citrus greening into the country, a CBP statement warned.
With the uptick in border crossings around this time, CBP agriculture specialists are on high alert, looking out for contraband flora. Donald Kusser, Director of Field Operations for the Laredo Field Office, emphasized the importance of their role, "Our CBP agriculture specialists conduct agricultural examinations every day, and their work is critical in preventing plant pests and diseases not known to exist in the U.S. from establishing themselves and inflicting ecological and economic harm on American agriculture," he stated in the CBP recent release. Among the prohibited items are murraya or orange jasmine, which can host the Asian citrus psyllid carrying citrus greening disease.
According to CBP, the dreaded citrus greening, or "huanglongbing," affects not just various citrus fruits such as oranges and grapefruits but also ornamental plants like the aforementioned orange jasmine. Having wreaked havoc on crops across the globe, the U.S. has been battling this disease since its detection in Florida in 2005. Given the potential damage, travelers are also reminded to avoid bringing in fruits like oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, sour oranges, sweet limes, guavas, mangoes, peaches, and pomegranates.
For those who may inadvertently or intentionally violate these restrictions, the consequences can be severe, with fines reaching up to $500 for personal importations and exceeding $250,000 for commercial violations. CBP urges travelers to inform themselves about which food items are permissible through their informative "Know Before You Go" guide and obtain more specific details on USDA regulations when traveling with agricultural products from abroad.
