TRAVEL 35 - Sunday, November 27, 1988 - North Shore News IMPORTING FOOD Smuggled sausage could spell disaster CANADA MIGHT just as well close up shop if we ever lost our foreign market for agricultural products. And that’s precisely what could happen if some contagious pest or disease were imported from another country. I remember watching the newsreels in (952 with horror. They showed huge pits being dug, herds of cattle being driven in and RCMP officers being obliged to shoot them. Ghastly — and all because of a salami. A traveller returning from Europe smuggled home a sausage that had been improperly cured and carried the foot-and-mouth disease virus. Somehow, the virus was transmitted to our domestic cattle and mass s!aughter was the only way to eradicate the plague. Agriculture Canada maintains a large staff at the Vancouver Inter- national Airport in an attempt to apprehend any dangerous product before it has a chance to infect the country. The travelling public needs to smarten up and give them a hand. The list of dangerous plant and animal products is a long one and it includes many products to which certuin restrictions apply. For example, dairy products from every country in the world except the U.S.A. are strictly for- bidden. The only exception is commercial cheese (mot home- made) because the acid in the pro- duct is strong enough to kill bacteria. The simplest products can har- bor a potential disaster. “Pve cut open perfect looking apples from England and found the inner core crawling with worms,’’ remarked Kent Set- terholt, one of the inspectors at the irport. Raw meat is a terrible hazard and yet travellers are stopped every day with samples. One traveller was stopped with an entire hind quarter of pig — hoof included — packed in a suitcase. While I was visiting, another was relieved of a dreadful-looking package of raw sausages that had gone. unrefrigerated on a long flight from the Far East. They were obviously inedible and would be tossed in a garbage can had they slipped through. It would be a short step for some marauding animal to raid the tin and open Pandora’s box. Most illicit food and plant items are carried in hand baggage and that’s where Agriculture Canada’s most famous employee comes in. Angus is a polite, charming and gentle beagle-basset cross with a nose that doesn’t miss much. He wears a uniform — a neat green coat with ‘‘Agriculture Canada’’ on both sides so he gets the proper respect. It’s a treat to watch him work. As the flights come in and the Passengers wait at the baggage carousels, Angus is led by his handler, either Kent or Jane Boulton, through the crowd. His busy nose checks every bag he can reach. He will often pause, reflect, and check again. If he sits down, he’s signalling a ‘‘hit.’’ If he also raises his right paw he’s really pleased with the find. Sure enough, when the bag is opened there’s an offending food. 1 followed Angus on his route. He checked about 15 bags and made eight ‘hits.’ Of these, seven bags contained illegal items — fruit, sandwiches and remnants travel wise Barbara McCreadie from in-flight meals. The one “‘miss’? was a bag belonging to an elderly lady who confessed that she had carried an apple but had eaten it during the flight. As Angus picked out the _ Suspicious luggage, Kent quickly marked the pieces with a yellow sticker — a sign that the bags were to be thoroughly checked at the secondary checkpoint. All but one passenger co- operated with the ‘‘Beagle Brigade.’’ One was downright rude — grabbing her bag and turning away. I cheered silently when Kent yellow-ticketed not only her hand- baggage but her suitcase as well — I wonder if she was the owner of the bags of tulip bulbs later con- fiscated by customs. Agriculture and customs work smoothly together. All the sear- ching is conducted by customs although the dog handler will ask the traveller to open any bag that Angus indicates. Customs officers cail for Agriculture’s assistance if they find any substance that they can’t iden- tify. And some very strange ob- jects there are. Outrigger Reef Towers, standard MAZATLAN Las Palmas, standard ee te at nee ee 320-1425 Marine Drive 926-4304 , ‘Wardeair Holidays ~ soa ON SALE VANCCUVER DEPARTURES December 4, 5 and 11 departures only 7 nights, starting at December 3 and 10 departures only. 7 alghts, starting at PUERTG VALLARTA § 479 | December 3 and 10 departures only Posade De! Angel, standard 7 nights, starting at | Offer valid on new bookings only. Offer is limited. All prices ers. per person based on double occupancy unless otherwise noted. Taxes and service charges are additional. They have no trouble in identi- fying one scary cbject. It’s a green fungus that is found only in one lake in northern Japan. The fungus is in the shape of a perfect little ball and is often sealed in fancy glassware. The trouble is that if one of those little green balls got loose in one of our lakes we could soon walk on water. They grow and grow, each with the potential of becoming a foot in diameter. They also multiply. One of the samples I saw had shown noticeable growth in th: few days it had been stored before being sent to the incincrator. “Well, let’s go back and see what Angus collected,’’ suggested Kent as the crowd began to clear. Two large, plastic basketfuls of stuff! Since the flight originated in Amsterdam, tulip bulbs made up the majority of confiscations, along with the usual quota of lunch bag stuff. That’s a pretty fine haul for one gentle little dog with an inquiring nose. One of the funniest ‘‘Angus stories” involves a drug smuggler. Angus is strictly an agriculture specialist — he’s probably quite good on marijuana, but heroin is outside his line of work. One day Angus indicated that a bag contained something wrong. The passenger panicked, threw up his hands and said, ‘‘You’ve got me!’’ He then handed the surpris- ed dog handler a package contain- ing a pound of dope. All Angus was interested in was the food he had stashed alongside. Dogs are so successful in detec- ting contraband that more and more are being trained. has been joined by >» another beagle-cross. Fred’s in training, but it may be a while until he earns his uniform. Fred has a fine nose but he’s still too interested. in the pats and at- tention he receives. Angus just blinks his eyes like Morris the cat and makes it very clear that all appreciation is duly noted but he’s got a job to do. 14 night prices aiso available. © Two nights accommodation. Standard or Deluxe @ One Dinner for wo, and ont Breakfast fortwo, in the ‘Tudor Room by the Sea” © Choice of one High Tea for two. or one Lunch for twa in ‘The Snug” @ One Harbour Luncheon cr tuise for Iwo aboard the hotel's own M.V. 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