Produce Crackdown Not Fruitful for Travelers : Travel: Bringing forbidden agricultural products into the United States or carrying hazardous items in your luggage may result in fines up to $25,000.

Be careful what you pack in your luggage. Hidden produce and other forbidden items can cost you up to $25,000 if discovered by authorities.

Starting Jan. 1, the federal government began fining passengers caught carrying some kinds of fresh produce back into the mainland United States from Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Department of Agriculture crackdown is in response to increased fear of infestation by the Mediterranean fruit fly and other pests plaguing U.S. agriculture. Some of the pests may have been brought in by tourists.

Before Jan. 1, banned produce discovered in luggage examined at those locations was confiscated and passengers received verbal reprimands only.

Fines ranging from $25 to $50 are being applied if hidden items are discovered during an airport search of luggage, with the higher rate levied if inspectors believe the items have been deliberately concealed.

Passengers can challenge fines by refusing to pay. The Department of Agriculture will then take the passenger to court. But if you lose the hearing, the fine probably will increase to from $250 to $1,000.

Contesting may be pointless.

“We’ve been collecting fines (at U.S. mainland locations) for over five years, and about 20 people have contested. To my knowledge, no one has ever won,” said Charles Havens, chief operations officer for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

No fine is levied if passengers declare prohibited items during baggage inspection. The produce is simply confiscated.

The Department of Agriculture has been spot-checking and fining passengers at U.S. mainland airports, but not in Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, since 1984, and has collected more than $3 million in fines.

To find out what agricultural items are prohibited, call Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service offices in Honolulu (808) 541-2952; San Juan, Puerto Rico (809) 253-4505, or Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas (809) 776-2787.

Or write for free brochures detailing the process. Ask for “Travelers Tips” and “Beagle Brigade” by writing to: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, 700 Federal Building, Hyattsville, Md. 20782.

Most fresh fruit and vegetables are forbidden. Exceptions to this include fresh pineapple and coconuts from Hawaii. Forbidden items from the Caribbean include fruits such as soursops and mangoes, but coconuts, cocoa beans, breadnut and banana leaves are allowed.

Other forbidden items include weapons, flammable liquids such as fuel, paints, solvents or adhesives; fireworks, including signals, flares and other explosives; wet-cell batteries; household items and industrial products including bleach, drain cleaners, mercury (even contained in thermometers) and many aerosol cans.

Matches and cigarette lighters for personal use during a trip may be carried in your pockets, handbags and in carry-on bags but not in checked-through luggage.

But you can’t carry refill containers in either carry-on or checked-through bags. Maximum penalty for passengers caught with a hazardous item is $25,000 and five years in jail.

“We may just caution a passenger, or the circumstances might dictate a fine,” said a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman. “It’s a case-by-case situation.”

If you have questions about potentially dangerous items, contact the airline you’re flying or the FAA Security Field Office at Los Angeles International Airport: (213) 215-2280.

“Ignorance is not an excuse, so you’re better off checking first,” the FAA spokeswoman said.