...but there's a hitch...it's at Costco de Mexico...hey, but some mm people go to Mexico from time to time...

We saw the jamon and chorizo at the Costco in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, MX. We (my parents, their children/spouses, grandchildren) just got back from a 9 day trip to southern Baja to celebrate my parents' 50th anniversary (two months early). Mostly we stayed in a friend's rustic beach house about 70 miles north of Cabo San Lucas, but had gone into the resort town just two days before returning to the US.

The 1kg pack (really, ten 100g packs) of jamon serrano cost ~$25 US, and a pack of three chorizos cost about ~$8 US...so quite a deal.

We didn't buy any (sadly knowing we could neither eat all of it before leaving Mexico, nor legally bring it into the US), so we cannot comment on the quality...However, we figured the least we could do is pass along this news to our fellow mm members!
:cheers:

Why weren't you able to take it with you to the USA?

You can't take meat from Mexico into the USA for the same reasons you can't take it into the USA from Spain (and, as we found out when we arrived in Mexico, from USA to Mexico either): a small portion of health concerns smothered with a large amount of protectionism and bureaucracy.

Ok, I just wanted to make sure: "serrano ham" CAN be imported into the US, for sure (at least from Spain). It is the US customs officials that ignore US regulations those who make it impossible, but I am absolutely sure about this: it took several years of inter-governmental negotiation (I think that even at EU level), but, I insist, "serrano ham" can be imported into the US. In these times being a foreigner and trying to do so might get anybody into trouble, but, at least if you are American, I would try to convince US customs officials to accept it: IMPORTING SERRANO HAM INTO THE US IS LEGAL!!! (at least from Spain)

Max,

I have heard rumors of what you say, but have not found any official documentation to back it up. If you can find any such documents, you will make MANY, MANY people VERY HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!


:cheers:
:ks:

I've been looking for a while, and I haven't found anything yet,... regarding private imports. It is quite clear that it is allowed for companies, since they would probably fill hundreds and hundreds of certifications at the US customs (e.g., "serrano" hams were exported to the US from Spain for a value over three million USD in year 2003).

I will keep on looking, but maybe it is only for "certified" products, whatever the certification, so private importers would need something similar to the document provided to tulip bulb importers from the Netherlands to the US.

:cry:

Sorry for having given (maybe) false expectations :-( I will keep on trying!

I have brought packets of vacuum packed Jamon Serrano from Madrid, Barcelona etc, into London over the last several years quite a few times, and I have never even been asked about them, although I could see in the fine print in my Airline tickets some stuff about bringing meats & stuff being prohibited, but (correct me if I'm wrong) I don't think that applies to "Vacuum Packed and/or Canned" items such as cooked Ham & chicken roll etc, and that they are exempted from that prohibition, and I think unless you have got about 10 Kilos of the stuff in your hand luggage, you won't get done for Ilegal Importation, I mean if it is clear that you've only got a couple of packets of Serrano or Jamon Cocido (cooked ham), and clearly only for personal use, or a gift to friends or family, then I think they wouldn't even ask about it, but perhaps they would if they could smell some really pungent Chorizo humming in your hand luggage, and some un-sealed ham (slices or portions) then perhaps it might be of concern.

All I can tell you is my vacuum packed slices of Jamon Serrano for my friends in London were looked at in my carrier bag before boarding, and not one word was said.

Perhaps the best thing to do is to e-mail an Airline, and ask about this question of vacuum packed/in a can or just wrapped in cling film or foil, and see what they say, but if I'm right, they will say they are okay with the vacuum packed ham etc (in small quantities for personal use).

I hope so, cos if not, I've been a bad boy.. ... Lets see shall we....... :cheers:

OK, here is something. Not too much, but it's well time to sleep in Europe:
Statement by the US Food Safety and Inspection Service

I have plenty of work these days, but I will try a couple of more ideas in the next few days; just if you want to do it by yourselves:

-calling the Spanish Administrative Information Centre +34-915861000 and ask about any legislation or treaties with the US that allow exports of "jam�n serrano" to the US - phone number to be checked,... I think it has been changed - yes, new number: +34-912731400. There is a thread on this by me :-)

-contacting the people found in this link:
The Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Export Database: Cooked Meat Products to the US
The e-mail addresses are firstname.familyname@cec.eu.int. BTW, Mr. Drostby is no longer working in the European Commission, so better to leave him out.

Max--
The vast majority of ham and pork products in Spain cannot be imported into the US. The pigs must be raised and processed in USDA approved farms. There are only a handful of farms and plants that have gone through this cumbersome and invasive process in Spain.

Serrano ham can be imported to the US. It is not the case of most of the rest of pork products: the difference is that serrano ham is cured. That was the key point of the negotiations of Spain and the EU with the US, since at this side of the pond curing is considered cooking, and at the other side it was not. But now there is an agreement,... but I do not know yet to which extent (i.e., do you need to provide the customs officials with any documents - even stating the origin of the product?)

Max--
Is this a very recent agreement? Because as of two months ago, this was not the case. The need for USDA inspected farms and plants is the reason that Jamon Iberico (also dry-cured) is not allowed into the US and there is a very, very limited selection of jamon serrano and other salt cured ham products from Spain.

There is a company--tienda.com--that is going through the very cumbersome process of bringing jamon iberico into the US. You can read about it here:
http://www.tienda.com/indepth/jamoniberico.html

See also:
http://www.tienda.com/indepth/jamonplus.html

It was signed before year 2000, for sure. If you check the FSIS statement above, it seems that it was already in place in year 1999. And the only problem I can see here is bringing any kind of certification to the US customs officials stating that the product you are trying to import is really "jam�n serrano" (you could try to hide some other thing under a "serrano" label), but as far as it is, it must be allowed into the US (subject to the applicable tariffs, of course).

All these regulations are supposed to protect the any country from diseases, so cooked products are usually allowed in. The problem with serrano ham is that it is not in any kitchen before it gets to the border, so US authorities wanted to avoid importing it to avoid the spreading of diseases. But after long negotiations, US authorities were convinced that curing serrano ham is equivalent to cooking it, and therefore, it was allowed into the US.

OK, the machine is on and running!!! I have contacted the European Commission officials to get to know everything about this issue. I will keep you updated.

I'll have to dig up the information that I found when I was researching this back in the spring. As recent as this past summer, importers were only bringing in ham from the very few USDA approved farms and slaughterhouses in Spain.

Anecdotally, I can attest that there are only two or three brands of Spanish jamon serrano available in the US and there is NO jamon iberico imported for sale in stores or consumption in restaurants. Only Palacios brand chorizo is imported. There are a few domestic producers of jamon, fuet, and chorizo in the US.

The importers clearly want to bring in more, but can't despite the demand from stores and restaurants for more variety.

Incidentally, I also noticed that there were different Spanish products available in Mexico when we were there two years ago.

NOTE: Oops, my post crossed yours. I would be very interested in whatever you discover!

That's one of the things I cannot understand of all this issue: chorizo is banned from US imports... how can it get to US stores?