Why You Can't Legally Bring Mexican Bologna Into The US

When one thinks of cross-border smuggling, bologna surely isn't the first product that comes to mind. However, this deli meat is one of the many items that does sometimes run afoul of the law. Several times in 2025 alone, individuals have been caught attempting to bring hundreds of pounds of pork products into the United States from Mexico. While bologna smugglers might not be the top targets for customs agents, there is a good reason that the movement of agricultural products is strictly regulated: disease.

Various fruits and vegetables have been prohibited from entering the U.S. at different times, typically in an attempt to keep pests and diseases from entering the nation's agricultural system. Presently, even cooked products like bologna and ham from Mexico are restricted due to the potential of harboring diseases like classical swine fever. This does not prevent the import of Mexican pork products into the U.S., but the law requires that these products be accompanied by veterinary documentation showing them to be disease free — not the sort of thing that someone with a trunk full of bologna is likely to have on hand.

For your own safety, you should always declare foods at the border, where customs agents can tell you whether or not the items are permissible to bring into the country. If they say it's okay, then you know you're in the clear. If not, you can leave the prohibited items there and continue onward. The only trouble comes if you fail to declare something that you are not allowed to bring into the country. In that case, you may be subject to civil penalties.

All agricultural imports into the U.S. are heavily regulated for similar reasons to the prohibition of Mexican pork products discussed above: to prevent the spread of communicable diseases from like sources. But many of the foods banned in America are on the list for different reasons. For starters, agricultural products can carry diseases that affect other organisms. This is the reason why gooseberries were banned in America. While gooseberries are not themselves a significant industry in the U.S., they can carry a disease that infects white pine trees, an important lumber crop.

Some products are also banned simply out of concern for human health. This list includes things like raw milk and raw milk cheeses (without proper veterinary documentation), fruits like ackee, and haggis. Haggis was banned in the U.S. for a particular ingredient: sheep lungs, which were deemed to be a foodborne illness risk. A third reason that a food might fly at the border is ethics, with a list including items like shark fin soup. Turtle soup is illegal in the U.S. for this reason. As a part of the Endangered Species Act, the harvest of sea turtles is outlawed in the U.S., making the soup, too, an item of contraband.

There are many reasons why foods might be prohibited from crossing a border, and these laws exist to protect human, animal, and economic health around the world. So, maybe skip bringing back your favorite cured meat as a souvenir from your next trip — and if you do, be sure to declare it at the border.