Posted on 04/12/2006 4:43:56 AM PDT by The South Texan
Officials: Cascarones not allowed to cross border into U.S. April 12,2006 James Osborne Monitor Staff Writer
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials are reminding those traveling into the United States from Mexico this week that importing cascarones, the confetti-filled Easter eggs, is illegal.
“No eggs, no egg shells, with or without confetti, or any containers that could have carried an egg,” said Felix Garza, a CBP spokesman.
While the ban on importing Mexican eggs is long established, egg shells were restricted a few years ago following the outbreak in Texas, Arizona, California and Nevada of Exotic Newcastle Disease, a highly contagious virus fatal to birds, Garza said. The disease attacks the respiratory, nervous and digestive system of all bird species with a mortality rate of 90 percent in infected populations.
Cascarones, an integral facet of Mexican Easter celebrations, often are broken over the head of unsuspecting family members. They are a booming business on this side of the border, where vendors usually purchase the shells from local bakeries.
Maria Gomez, a health-care provider who spends the week ahead of Easter Sunday selling the confetti-filled eggs from a roadside stand in McAllen, said preparing the eggs occupies most of her free time.
“You have to paint them and fill them with confetti,” she said.
“It’s a lot of work and a lot of mess.”
Gomez estimates she sold 30,000 cascarones last year.
Still, for some people, the want of actual Mexican cascarones, while identical to the American variety, is worth risking a $1,000 fine, Garza said. “There is a certain amount we find hidden,” he said.
“A lot of them just don’t know, but a certain amount try to sneak them through.”
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James Osborne covers PSJA and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4428. For this and other local stories visit www.themonitor.com.
Can you say TUBERCULOSIS???
WHAT A BUNCH OF FREAKIN' MORONS WE HAVE ELECTED!!!
(Sorry for the caps. I'm very angry.)
Great now they have ruined Easter!
Whew, that's a relief. I'm been so concerned with this problem for years now, but so pleased to see that Washington is enforcing the law already on the books and stopping them at the border.
Of course, this should provide a great opportunity for the Mexican cascarone makers to sneak into the US to supply the demand for American-made "bust-over-yer-friends'-heads" eggs...
Finally...now we can all sleep better.
HA!
While the ban on importing Mexican eggs is long established, egg shells were restricted a few years ago following the outbreak in Texas, Arizona, California and Nevada of Exotic Newcastle Disease, a highly contagious virus fatal to birds, Garza said.
Selective enforcement of laws. Slap in the face again.
There is an easy solution to that. The eggs should just sneak across the border. They will then have the same rights ( and more ) of the American eggs :-)
I'll sure feel a lot safer./s
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off this South Texas/Mexico ping list.
The more pressure we keep on Mexico, immigration-wise, the more reformers
inside of Mexico can be emboldened and empowered to scale back monopolists'
abuses down there which keep our own country flooded with economic refugees.
Here's an interesting new thread on new legal reform progress that finally
emerged in Mexico I think as a result of immigration reform's failure:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1611677/posts
We can make a difference for our sake, and their's as well. Isn't it the
neighborly thing to do?
They don't use the regular border crossing anyway.
Too late, it's already here, call it reincarnation. A resistant strain of TB has arrived, along with dashes of leprosy, untreatable chagas disease, Dengue fever, malaria, you name it, it's coming in. Read all about it at:
http://www.eagleforum.org/column/2004/dec04/04-12-01.html
Why bring them across? You can get them from Walmarts for 1.50 a dozen. I sure hope the ones I bought didn't come from China.
So yeah, I will be a killjoy on this one. Get a plastic egg, paper mache', or whatever. Bringing anything from Mexico, where they have very poor hygiene and veterinary medicine; without a quarantine is asking for problems.
"Why bring them across? You can get them from Walmarts for 1.50 a dozen. I sure hope the ones I bought didn't come from China."
Speaking of China and Wal-Mart. I thought it was funny a few years ago I bought a Pinata at my local Wally Mart for one of my boy's birthday party and it was made in China. I just shook my head thinking what's next.
Ok, I'm looking at the cascarones I bought last week at Walmarts."Made of real egg shells. Inspected by Mexican Inspectors(Sagarpa) USDA Permit Number C-4569. Made in Mexico. Say No to Drugs. Say yes to education". A San Antonio phone number.I'm going to call tomorrow and see who sterilizes them. It just seems strange that our government doesn't want us to bring them across but approves them for sell here.
I would think that something that is inspected under a USDA program would be checked properly. Although it would not hurt to follow up with your local Wally-world or the SanAntonio importer.
This article seems to discourage people from bringing the homemade variety. I would not have a problem letting the young'uns play with the store-bought variety, especially if there are no domestic poultry or caged birds around.
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