Red light red light RENNET

March 22, 2011 8:15 AM

I want to give the gift of cheese, but I want to make sure it won't be confiscated at the border.

We have some friends coming from New Zealand at the weekend, and one of the things we want to do for them is give them a selection of local things so they remember their trip. One of the items we want to give them is a make your own cheese kit. The kit contains rennet tablets, and I'm not sure if rennet is allowed through NZ border control - I can't see anywhere here that says it's restricted, but as it's a living culture I don't want to assume it's OK, only to have them confiscate our gift at the border.

Does anybody know for sure whether rennet can be brought into New Zealand?

posted by pdb to Food & Drink (5 answers total)

Rennet is not a living culture. Unless your tablets are different, it's just enzymes.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 8:24 AM on March 22, 2011

To boot, it's vegetable rennet, so it's not even an animal product.
posted by cabingirl at 8:25 AM on March 22, 2011

Response by poster: well allrighty then! Guess I should have paid more attention in science class. Thanks!
posted by pdb at 8:28 AM on March 22, 2011

Also, my personal experience traveling into New Zealand frequently with sometimes dodgy items (seashells, honey, other food) is that as long as you declare it, in detail, and are willing to dig the items out of your bag, and have them x-rayed to death, you almost always get to bring them in. I've never even had to pay for the irradiation/treatment/whatever they do when they take my camping gear away and keep it in a back room for 20 minutes. So even if it is a restricted item (which I'm pretty sure it's not), your friends probably won't lose it.
posted by lollusc at 8:29 AM on March 22, 2011

I did like the 'Mats reference though.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 7:08 PM on March 22, 2011