Hi all,
Is it allowed to bring spices to Taiwan as a souvenir or present such as dried chili powder, curry powder, etc?
Some TW custom documents seem to say only if you can show a quarantine certificate (because its technically plant matter). Do you think customs would bat an eye?
Thank you!!
Iāve never seen them care about anything besides pork. Anything containing even a particle of pork canāt be brought. Fresh vegetables/fruits or something would be out, but Iāve brought dried spices loads of times in the past.
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Yeah, bringing spices as souvenirs to Taiwan is generally okay, as long as theyāre properly packaged and not in huge quantities. You might need to declare them and show the packaging, but itās unlikely to be a big deal.
There are actually phytosanitary requirements. And taiwan is getting more strict. We arenāt New Zealand yet, but we arenāt old school Taiwan anymore either. Your best bet is to bring SEALED packages that are proper commercial products with company information on their labels. Not just a zip lock bag of bulk random stuff.
Properly bought stuff, sealed, glass/plastic are usually fine unless they (species and/or chemicals) are banned here. Eg. Poppy seeds. Seeds are more complicated, as they may be able to be propagated and get an extra layer of raised eyebrows if noticed.
Just buy properly packaged, by a company, and declare it. Worst case, they dump them. Second worst case, they tax you. But usually nothing
This goes for all plant food, not just spices.
Edit. * dried/heavily processed products. Fresh get even more problematic.
Like Trader Joeās Everything But the Bagel Seasoning. Which every Taiwanese person that wants to flex seems to have in their homeā¦
Itās all in the label 
feel free to read between the lines
Considering South Korea has posted signs in their international arrivals noting TJās packaging specifically, Iād be interested to see if TW starts to inspect packaging or if theyāre just going to keep ignoring this ādrug smugglingā for awhile longer
I recommend asking in the airport before clearing customs. There will be a customs desk near the luggae claim belts (not the exit customs check) where you can show them what you have and get confirmation if itās allowed or not.
That āsniffer dogā at the Taoyuan airport, what breed is it, poodle or something?
Both the EPA and FDA are spending a considerable amount of time in their required meetings talking about this precise issue. Its absolutely on their radar. Taiwan isnāt ignorant about rampant drug issues here. Itās just lower government officials are still corrupt as shit.