Re: Lollies Chocs etc get the green light for not being declared on entry to Australi
Bearing in mind I'm not any form of expert on quarantine, nor a moon cakes expert(there are multiple different types after all) but yes uncooked eggs, even those which are not 100% cooked.
I've seen it a few times now around festival time where quarantine have a sprooker just after border control saying anyone with moon cakes must declare them.
My only experience with them being confiscated was that i declared a hand made cricket bat that I got in India which needed to be sprayed, and the people next to me were going nuts about losing grannies best moon cakes.
I'm not sure if moon cakes have uncooked egg yolks (which are customarily salted, too). My impression was that they are not, though I guess they may not be
thoroughly cooked (otherwise you'd have a rubber yolk).
That said, I thought customs were always kind of nervous when it came to any kinds of egg content. Same thing with nuts or seeds, which moon cake does contain - lotus seed, mung bean. I know Mum has taken moon cake through customs a handful of times with no problems. She has had other things seized before, but not moon cake, and every year she also brings through a couple of boxes of Chinese hopia (mung bean based biscuit-cakes).
Mum usually brings stuff back which is well packed, however (or as good as bakeries in Asia will pack it for you). Home made items might raise alarms at customs for obvious reasons.
well I think you will be one of the few. I'm very pleased with it! I used to avoid buying chocolates and biscuits because of the need to declare. I will buy them freely now, very pleased
LOL - the rule never stopped me from buying these things and I've always been waved through. I am not travelling to Europe and coming home without some chocolate from select places.
This is what I alluded to - no one should have any reservations buying chocolate (unless the origin is dodgy), as long as you declare it at customs (as food). Frequently, if that's all you've got declarable, then you should be waved through, unless you are otherwise deemed a risk for other reasons. I almost always have chocolate to declare when I return to Australia; at least 70% of the time now if that is all I have, I'm let out of customs without even visiting the benches.
Even if you don't declare it under the new provisions, there's always the chance you'll be randomly screened anyway, just like every other declarer.
That is why I see this new ruling as not a big deal at best, and at worst, a chance of sowing more confusion.
