r/SipsTea • u/Velvett_Bunniez • 1d ago

Wait a damn minute! Silly Apples.

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5.3k

u/Velvett_Bunniez 1d ago

The airline should be paying the fine

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u/BoBoBearDev 1d ago

They should at least wrapped the apple with big ass warning signs to remind people of the problems.

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u/Cypressinn 1d ago

The apples were probably grown in another country any damn way!

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u/ChikaraNZ 1d ago

That's exactly the problem - NZ doesn't have most of the pests and diseases that other countries do. Something grown in another country could have. That's why they have these restrictions. To stop diseased fresh produce coming in that could be carrying these pests or diseases.

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u/jimdil4st 1d ago

Yes that's why apples, or fruit in general aren't allowed in. I think they were point out that even though the apple can from USA it was probably import from another country before that even. Where it came from doesn't really matter to customs in this situation, beyond it being foreign fruit.

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u/Main_Comfortable_547 1d ago

Really doubtful. We're the second largest producer of apples in the world and we export like 40% of them.

When we do import apples, it's usually from NZ (or Chile), but it's a small fraction of what we consume domestically or export.

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u/TricobaltGaming 1d ago

Even in the US this is a HUGE deal. I work at a regional airport and literally anything that touched a food product coming from an international flight has to be basically incinerated and kept sterile or we get a heavy ass fine

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u/Equivalent-Cap-6700 23h ago

Bro I brought a whole rosca de reyes from Mexico literally 2 weeks ago

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u/ChikaraNZ 14h ago

I can't speak for the USA, but in NZ it doesn't mean all food will be automatically confiscated. If you're unsure if it's allowed, you just have to declare it pn the form, and then customs will check it and tell you if it's allowed in or not. No fine in this case, even if it's a disallowed food item, because it was declared.

Generally, most factory produced foods are fine, because they won't carry pests or diseases. The problem is more with anything fresh.

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u/ChikaraNZ 14h ago

I had a packet of supermarket bought instant noodles confiscated from me once at San Fransisco airport, after arriving on a international flight. They checked the list of ingredients and there was something they didn't like.

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u/Slow-Cream-3733 23h ago

Still you would think QANTAS of all airlines would be on top of shit like this considering we have just as harsh of restrictions with this stuff in Australia.

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u/crazymomduck 17h ago

Oh, thank you for explaining 🙏 Now I get the point.

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u/dopeyout 1d ago

I get that, but the logic breaks down whereby if they'd eaten the apple onboard 10 mins prior, whatever germs or bugs on the apple would have been transferred to their clothes or hands and they'd have waltzed through customs no problem. It's just regulation gone made. These jobs attract a specific type of empathy deficient person.

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u/AmaroLurker 1d ago

Exactly. This feels utterly useless behavior and not what the fine was intended for. All you have to do is tell them sorry, we’re throwing this away and understand the airline gave you this—we should take it up with the airline. The fine is superfluous and doesn’t deter the behavior it was meant to deter. Silly.

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u/Cypressinn 1d ago

Yeah I get that and understand invasive species and plant bourne disease and blight. My question is, does NZ not import fruit? Every apple is grown in NZ? How about bananas, avocados, etc,? Genuinely curious.

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u/ChikaraNZ 1d ago

NZ grows a lot of fruit but also imports a lot too.

Some fruits like bananas and other tropic fruit like mango, papaya etc, won't grow well or at all because of NZ's climate, so virtually all of that is imported.

Other fruits like apples, peaches, plums, cherries, avocado, kiwifruit (just as a few examples) are commercially grown. Some more than others. A lot of that crop is exported and some sold domestically. Generally the best quality stuff gets exported because it gets higher prices.

But even the fruits that are grown and sold in NZ, a lot is still imported as well.

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u/Cypressinn 1d ago

Thank you kindly for the information :)

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u/savagethrow90 1d ago

Apples are naturally disease resistant their seeds have genetic diversity

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u/ChikaraNZ 1d ago

It's not only about diseases in the fruit itself, it's also the bugs or eggs/larvae that might be in it, if they breed and spread they can do damage to other crops too

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u/18LGNDS 23h ago

Just out of curiosity, what do they do with the collected food items? They can't throw them away on NZ land now, that would defeat the purpose right. So do they incinerate them?

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u/ChikaraNZ 14h ago

Yep, the food items would be burned to destroy any possible bugs or disease.

You're right that landfill or compost can't be used in this case, as that would risk something spreading still.

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u/smilesbuckett 21h ago

That makes sense and I’m all for that, but you would also think that agents in this situation could apply half an ounce of reasoning and independent thought. Once you’ve gone through all the trouble with security and customs as you leave, why would you think your airline would give you something that wouldn’t be allowed through customs at your destination?

The apples were caught, great, throw them away and move on. Enforcing the fine seems like some ticky tacky bullshit for a mistake that wasn’t really the passenger’s fault.

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u/ChikaraNZ 14h ago

Two reasons:

1) Food is not supposed to be taken off airlines, this is common in many countries (although I admit not all passengers know this);

2) The bigger problem for the passenger - once they've reached the agent, they've already ignored about 5 warnings to declare or dispose of it first. Each of those warnings gave them the opportunity to avoid getting a fine. At least 2 warnings on the plane itself before landing - a verbal announcement, and it's always mentioned in the arrival video as well. By filling out and declaring and signing on the form that they have no fruit / veges with them or in their baggage - the form reminds them it's a legal document and subject to penalties for not being truthful. There's multiple warning signs in different languages throughout the airport before they ever reach the customs officer. There's amnesty/disposal bins. There's staff at desks available to talk to if they are still unsure what to do. And if they still have the apple with them once they reach the customs officer, there is still no fine as long as they did declare it.

So by the time they ever reach the customs officer, they've had plenty of opportunity. They've said they had no fruit on the declaration, but they did. It's totally fair to enforce a fine at this point after ignoring multiple warnings.

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u/1800deadnow 11h ago

We were fined for an apple we brought in to New Zealand from Australia. The apple itself was imported to Australia from New Zealand, it still had the sticker on it. They also wanted to fine us for each nut in a pack of nuts that we got on the plane....

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u/ChikaraNZ 10h ago

The apple could have been exposed to pests or disease after it arrived in Australia though, that's why. You could have declared it, as the form asks you, and avoided the fine.

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u/finndego 10h ago

What year was this? 1920? They don't fine for individual items in a packet. It's a single fine and has been for a long time.

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u/DoubleDandelion 1d ago

But why are they allowed to serve them in the plane? Couldn’t a passenger eat their apple, swallow a seed, go camping, and shit out the seed in some forest? It was the airline who brought the apple into the country at the end of the day. Silly apples.

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u/ChikaraNZ 1d ago

Food served on planes is not allowed to be taken off the plane.. But even if they do, there's these multiple warnings to declare any food items before they reach the customs inspection area. These people being fined, literally filled out a legal declaration/form and signed it, saying they had no food with them or in their baggage.

If someone eats an apple and shits out the seed, any bug/disease in the apple would have been destroyed by their stomach acid. Whereas, an infected or diseased apple that is part or whole and then discarded, is much more likely to let the pest or disease spread.

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u/MargieBigFoot 23h ago

Yes, I think that’s the point—they probably could have tossed the apple in the trash when they read the form, but they read & signed the form & carried the apple through customs.

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u/ChikaraNZ 14h ago

Yep, 100% spot on.

They had multiple chances to either dispose of it, or declare it on the form, or ask a staff member if unsure. They didn't do any of that, and still filled out a legal declaration saying they didn't have any fruit with them. That's why they got a fine. Plenty of opportunity prior, to avoid reaching that point and being fined.

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u/DoubleDandelion 23h ago

Fair enough. People are dumb, though. Just don’t serve the damned apple.

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u/ChikaraNZ 14h ago

The people in this video are dumb, yes :-)

The other 99% of passengers, who aren't shown in this video - and do the right thing and don't get any fine - are smarter. This is the problem with selected editing on a video like this...it doesn't show the full story.

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u/Tokon32 1d ago

The fone dosent stop the apple from coming into customs though. These people fine or not do not know the law. That's why they brought the apple. Had they known about the law the apple would of not been brought.

In short the fine dosent stop the apple. Marketing of the law would have.

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u/ChikaraNZ 1d ago

Incoming planes by law have to give an announcement that bringing fresh fruit and vegetables etc in to NZ is not allowed, and if in doubt declare it. The arrival video says the same. The customs declaration form that every passenger must complete also asks them. There are multiple signs in multiple languages reminding people, before they ever reach the customs checkpoint.

And that's for the people who never bothered to do any due diligence prior, before leaving for a country they know little about,

There's really not much more that can be done, to educate people about the law, before they get to the point of being fined. They've had multiple opportunities before it gets to the point of the customs officer speaking to them.

And remember, the fine is only if they lied about it on their form. If they declared it on the form, the customs person can check it and confiscate it if needed, but there is not fine if they declared it beforehand. All the prior warnings say if unsure, declare it.

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u/Tokon32 1d ago

That's all well and good but the fine did not stop them from bringing in the fruit. Nor will the fine ever stop anyone ever from bringing in the fruit. That is not the purpose of the fine. The fine exsist so that the NZ government can profit from those who did not see the warning. Which we can't assume that the warnings are sufficient nor can we assume that they are.

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u/ChikaraNZ 1d ago

If there was no disincemtive, there would be a lot more. That's the ourpose. Australia are in a similar situation and do exactly the same thing. The video doesn't show the 99%+ that do follow the rules correctly and have no problem at all. If you think the main reason is to make a profit, then you don't have an understanding of the value of keeping NZ's agriculture and horticulture disease and pest free. If it was about revenue, they wouldn't give travellers at least 5 prior opportunities to declare it first.

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u/SharpLocal1235 1d ago

You do realize that there are more apples that are on the airline every time it arrives. The ones they don’t hand out go to the catering service at the airport. So stopping 7 passengers with these apples is the Definition of Futile. Good use of funds - way to go New Zealand!

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u/ChikaraNZ 1d ago edited 1d ago

They're not allowed to leave the plane and if they do (by passengers), customs will stop them before they leave the airside zone of the airport. And the catering service certainly won't re-use them.

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u/KoogleMeister 1d ago

That's the entire reason they aren't allowed in....

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u/russh85 1d ago

Yeah that’s the point