customs messed with my timorese coffee...

[critterjg]

howdy all

a mate in east timor sent me a gift of a kilo of roasted timorese coffee he picked up from a factory. he forewarned me about two weeks ago (postage is exceptionally slow) it was coming and it arrived today.

what i found on the box was a customs sticker which said opened by australia post for inspection by quarantine and when i opened the package it became apparent customs had slit open the bag it was in (which i can understand why) and then dumped the bag back in the box without resealing it (which i dont understand why). i am pretty peeved because the coffee is now stale and pretty useless to me. not having any experience with quarantine in this regard, is this ok? I just figure if they clear it through i.e. no heroin, they should have returned it to the state it was in originally...

your thoughts

james

[Thundergod]

Re: customs messed with my timorese coffee...

Ive had stuff opened by customs and then it was taped back up.
Not foodstuff though so I dont know what they normally do.
Id complain if I were you.

[Koffee_Kosmo]

Re: customs messed with my timorese coffee...

I have tried to google the Customs search procedures but all I get is the GST costs to import goods over $1000
Q&A was also not much help with regards to your query

So its best that you ring them

KK

[patro5]

Re: customs messed with my timorese coffee...

If it came by Parcels Post, the postal workers opened it, Customs passed it on to AQIS who inspected it then oked it delivery and didnt reseal it for some reason. If it came by courier service it was xrayed by Customs who then passed it on to AQIS, so AQIS are the culprits, they are the only ones who can make decisions regarding any plant matter coming ito Australia.

[Intellidepth]

Re: customs messed with my timorese coffee...

Im guessing customs staff dont ever drink freshly roasted coffee.

Sad for your coffee experience . But exploring the occasional package is a necessary part of their checking foodstuffs I guess - not just for drugs, but for bugs.

[Stan]

Re: customs messed with my timorese coffee...

Coffee beans are often used to mask other prohibited items.

[pberry]

Re: customs messed with my timorese coffee...

Ive ordered heaps of coffee from overseas over time (Maybe around 10kgs of roasted coffee total). Some has gone through unchecked, some has been checked but with no obvious tampering, some has been slashed open and was stale when I received it.

Such is the luck of the draw.

[critterjg]

Re: customs messed with my timorese coffee...

hmmm... cheers for the comments. ill just get him to resend another i suppose. it is ridiculously cheap over there so im sure he wont mind. i just need to make sure he gets arabica though...

[martybean]

Re: customs messed with my timorese coffee...

it might be worth putting a note inside the box [if opened please reseal coffee as it goes stale.]