On Nov. 2, a passenger was fined $1,000 at Los Angeles International Airport after customs officials discovered 450 plastic-wrapped pork tamales in his luggage.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, bringing pork in from another country carries potential health risks to the public.
So all 450 tamales were seized and destroyed, and the passenger was fined $1,000 for "commercial activity with the intent to distribute." And the poor tamales met their demise via "incineration."
Anne Maricich, acting director of customs field operations in L.A., put out the following statement:
Although tamales are a popular holiday tradition, foreign meat products can carry serious animal diseases from countries affected by outbreaks of Avian influenza, mad cow and swine fever."
"Every day CBP agriculture specialists prevent the intentional and unintentional introduction of harmful pests and foreign animal diseases into the U.S.
