Inside The World Of Food Smuggling «

Paul Bradshaw: So my uncle asked me if, if he thought I could find a way to get my haggis to him. 

Dan Pashman: This is Paul Bradshaw. He’s Scottish Canadian, and grew up in Toronto eating the traditional Scottish dish haggis. About 10 years ago, his uncle in Florida asked Paul to mail him a haggis from Canada. Because some of the animal parts you need to make traditional haggis can’t be brought into the U.S. So Paul devised a plan …

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Paul Bradshaw: I froze a giant haggis. I wrapped that in aluminum foil, thinking that that would help keep the cold in. Then I put it in a styrofoam shipping cooler, but then I figured that would be a red flag if I shipped it in that cooler. So I put the styrofoam cooler inside of another box and then just put a label on it saying that it was clothing and kind of hoped they didn’t scan it.  That’s how I got into smuggling Haggis.

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Dan Pashman: This is The Sporkful, it’s not for foodies, it’s for eaters, I’m Dan Pashman. Each week on our show, we obsess about food to learn more about people. And today, I’m talking with Sporkful producer Andres O’Hara, who’s got a story that he’s been working on. 

Dan Pashman: Hey, Andres.

Andres O’Hara: Hey, Dan. So summer’s almost here. Tons of Americans will be traveling abroad soon either to see family and friends, or just to explore new places. And do you know what that means?

Dan Pashman: What?

Andres O’Hara: That means it’s prime food smuggling season.

Dan Pashman: [LAUGHS] 

Andres O’Hara: So let me start by asking you? Have you ever smuggled food into the country? I mean, brought back food from abroad, without declaring it?

Dan Pashman: I have. Yes. Like I know Janie and I were in Paris a few years back and I brought back several large blocks of cheese and a baguette, which I had to break in half because it was too long to fit in my suitcase. 

[LAUGHING] 

Dan Pashman: And even though I understood that by the time I got back the baguette wouldn’t be fresh anymore…