Recent reports revealed an unnamed passenger traveling from Indonesia to Australia was fined $1,874 USD for packing two McDonald’s McMuffins and a ham croissant in their luggage without declaring the food first.
Apparently the passenger was caught by a sniffer dog and airport staff discovered the food inside the traveler’s backpack.
The charges are as follows: “Failure to declare potential high biosecurity risk items and issuing a false and misleading travel declaration form.”
Australian Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry Murray Watt stated in a press release:
“This will be the most expensive Maccas meal this passenger ever has. This fine is twice the cost of an airfare to Bali, but I have no sympathy for people who choose to disobey Australia’s strict biosecurity measures, and recent detections show you will be caught.”
“The seized meat products will be tested for foot and mouth disease (FMD) before they are destroyed.”
“Australia is FMD-free, and we want it to stay that way,” Watt said. “Zinta was placed at Darwin Airport as part of the Albanese Government’s tough new biosecurity defences, and it’s excellent to see she is already contributing to keeping the country safe.”
“Biosecurity is no joke—it helps protect jobs, our farms, food and supports the economy,” the secretary continued. “Passengers who choose to travel need to make sure they are fulfilling the conditions to enter Australia, by following all biosecurity measures.”
As we can see, Australia is hyper vigilant in its biosecurity defense at the border in order to prevent the spread of disease. Not long ago, another flight passenger was also charged for not declaring a chicken sandwich in her bag. Thankfully, the fast food company provided her a gift card that matched the fine amount.
“I didn’t tick chicken and I didn’t tick lettuce. Chicken and lettuce,” Jessica Lee said via social media. “And that is a nice little $2,664 … to be paid in 28 days. Such an expensive rookie mistake.”
Subway offered a response and a gift card to Lee:
“To say thank you for eating fresh, we’ve uploaded a sub card with $2,664 just for you,” a letter from Subway to Lee said. “We hope this covers all your chicken and lettuce needs. Love from your Subway fans.”
“Subway, you have outdone yourself and this fine is worth every single penny,” Lee shared on social media.
