Can You Bring Biltong Into the US? What Customs Actually Does
Published UpdatedYou can't bring biltong from South Africa into the US in your luggage. USDA rules block beef products from any country that isn't declared free of foot-and-mouth disease, and South Africa isn't on that list, so a bag from home gets confiscated at the airport. Declare it anyway and you walk away with no fine. Hide it and you're looking at a civil penalty of up to $1,000.
I've carried biltong through more customs halls than I can count, from Taiwan to Fiji to Texas. Customs officials had questions. In the US the answer is settled, and it's not the one a homesick South African wants. Here's the rule, the reasoning, and what actually happens at the counter.
Can you bring biltong into the US from South Africa?
No, not for practical purposes. USDA APHIS puts it plainly: travelers can't bring back most cattle, swine, sheep or goat meat or meat products from countries affected by serious livestock diseases, and foot-and-mouth disease heads the list.
The legal wording is even blunter. Under 9 CFR 94.1, "APHIS considers foot-and-mouth disease to exist in all regions of the world except those declared free of the disease by APHIS." South Africa doesn't appear on the current APHIS list of FMD-free regions. Neither does most of the world; the free list is mostly the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and a handful of islands.
So South African beef, in any form that isn't sealed in a can, is out. Biltong is beef. Droëwors is beef. That fancy vacuum pack from the airport shop is still beef.
Why is biltong banned from entering the US?
Because of the cattle, not the people. Foot-and-mouth disease doesn't hurt humans, but it spreads through animal products and would be catastrophic for the US herd. The CBP explainer on agricultural products says many fresh, dried and some canned meats are prohibited "because of the continuing threat of foot-and-mouth disease."
The full story, including why US-made biltong is completely legal and why the rule looks odd to anyone who grew up eating the stuff, is in the why is biltong illegal explainer. This page is the traveler's version.
Doesn't dried or cured meat get an exception?
On paper there's a narrow path. 9 CFR 94.4 lets cured meat from an FMD region in if it's "thoroughly cured and fully dried in such manner that it may be stored and handled without refrigeration," with a water-to-protein ratio no higher than 2.25 to 1 in the wettest part, and if the fresh meat was held unfrozen for at least three days after slaughter.
The catch is proof. APHIS says travelers may bring cured or dried meat from a country without these diseases if they have official documentation, and it lists what that means: a meat inspection certificate, a certificate of origin, package labeling, receipt of sale. A packet of biltong from a butcher in Stellenbosch has none of that. The agriculture specialist at the airport can't test water-protein ratios at the counter, so the default is the bin.
Cooked meat in unopened, hermetically sealed commercial containers is a separate category and does sometimes clear. Biltong isn't cooked, so that door's closed too.
What happens if you bring biltong through US customs?
It depends entirely on whether you wrote it down. Here's the fork:
| What you did | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Declared it on the customs form | Inspector examines it, takes it, disposes of it. No penalty. | APHIS traveler page |
| Didn't declare, got caught | Confiscated, plus a civil penalty that "may range up to $1,000 per first-time offense for non-commercial quantities." | CBP |
| Didn't declare, commercial quantity or repeat | Higher penalties; CBP handles these case by case. | CBP |
APHIS is unusually direct about the deal on offer: "As long as you declare all the agricultural products you are bringing with you, you will not face any penalties—even if an inspector determines that these products cannot enter the country." That's the whole strategy. Tick the box, lose the biltong, keep the thousand dollars.
Should you declare biltong at US customs?
Yes, every time. Declare everything edible, including the airport snack you forgot about. Undeclared food is where the fines live; declared food is just a sad moment at a stainless-steel table.
Three things to know before you fill in the form:
- "Food" means all food. CBP requires travelers to declare "meats, fruits, vegetables, plants, seeds, soil, animals, as well as plant and animal products." Biltong qualifies twice.
- Weight doesn't help. A single 100g packet is treated the same as a suitcase full. The 50-pound limit APHIS mentions applies to things that are allowed in the first place.
- The sniffer dogs are good. Arrival halls run detector dogs trained to find food in bags, and they're completely unmoved by your explanation about your grandmother's recipe.
Can you mail biltong from South Africa to the US?
Same rules, different door. A parcel is an import, and the meat inside needs the same origin and inspection paperwork a commercial shipment would. A family parcel doesn't have it, so don't ask them to try; the best case is that it's destroyed, and the worst case is that it's destroyed after they paid for express postage.
What about biltong from the UK, Australia or elsewhere?
Country of origin is what matters, and it's the origin of the beef, not the shop. Australia and New Zealand are on the APHIS FMD-free list, so dried beef made there from local beef has a path in, with the documentation above. A packet of South African biltong bought in a London shop is still South African beef, and it's treated that way.
For any other country, check the APHIS region health status page before you pack, not after you land. APHIS also flags separate bans on cured hams and salami from parts of France, Germany, Italy and Spain, which tells you how little "but it's dried" helps as an argument.
The actual fix: buy biltong made in the USA
Biltong made from US beef in a USDA-inspected facility is completely legal, and there's now a real industry doing it. Vinegar, salt, coriander, cool air, days of hanging. The process is the same one the Voortrekkers used; only the passport on the cow has changed.
The guide to buying biltong in the USA covers how to tell proper air-dried biltong from jerky in a biltong costume, and the rundown of US biltong manufacturers lists who's making it and where. Anything shipped from a US producer arrives without a customs form, which is more than can be said for my luggage.
Frequently asked questions
Can you bring biltong into the USA?
No. Biltong from South Africa is a beef product from a country that USDA APHIS has not declared free of foot-and-mouth disease, so it is prohibited for travelers. It will be confiscated at the port of entry if found. Biltong made in the USA from US beef is legal.
What happens if you don't declare biltong at US customs?
If undeclared biltong is found, CBP confiscates it and may issue a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for a first offense involving non-commercial quantities. If you declare it, it is still confiscated but there is no penalty.
Is biltong allowed through US customs if it is vacuum-sealed?
No. Vacuum packaging does not change the rule. The restriction is based on the country of origin of the beef and its foot-and-mouth disease status, not the packaging. Only cooked meat in unopened hermetically sealed commercial containers has a separate pathway.
Can you bring droëwors into the US?
No. Droëwors is a dried beef sausage and falls under the same USDA APHIS prohibition on ruminant meat products from countries not declared free of foot-and-mouth disease.
Can I post biltong to the USA?
No. Mailed biltong from South Africa is treated as an import and requires the same USDA inspection documentation as a commercial shipment. Personal parcels without that paperwork are intercepted and destroyed.
Is South Africa free of foot-and-mouth disease according to the USDA?
No. South Africa does not appear on the APHIS list of regions declared free of foot-and-mouth disease, which is why South African beef products are prohibited from entering the US in travelers' baggage.
The store isn't open yet, and the only thing you can put money on today is the $100 Founding 50 first-batch box, produced in the USA and therefore entirely legal to eat in an arrivals hall. If you've got a customs story or a question, cal@btbiltong.com is me.
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