CDFA and Partner Agencies Remind Travelers of the Risks of Pests in Packed Fruits, Vegetables, or Meat Products on their Summer Trips

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 23, 2025--

As millions of travelers pack their bags this Memorial Day weekend for the unofficial beginning of summer travel season, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and its partners in federal and local government are reminding travelers NOT to pack fruits, vegetables, or meat products that could spread harmful pests, like invasive fruit flies.

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While traveling with these items may seem harmless, CDFA along with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and local county agricultural commissioners want to remind air passengers and road trippers alike that non-native pests and diseases can act as sneaky hitchhikers in fruits, veggies and other plant and food items. If transported into California, these invasive species can cause significant damage to California’s agricultural industries and residents’ homegrown produce.

To prevent the introduction of invasive pests and diseases, officials ask travelers entering or returning to California not to bring fruits, vegetables, or meat products with them. If travelers have plants or produce, they’re asked to declare it for inspection to ensure its safety.

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross emphasized that the negative impacts of invasive pests and diseases stretch well beyond commercial agricultural operations. “Invasive pests and plant diseases that make their way into California not only can have devastating consequences for the bountiful agricultural operations throughout the state, but also can impact our community’s ability to grow fruits and vegetables at home, as well as the delicate ecosystems of our natural and working lands. Everyone can play a role in keeping California free from invasive pests and diseases.”

“Our CBP agriculture specialists stationed at land, sea and airports, utilize their technical proficiency in defending our borders from harmful pests and diseases,” said CBP Port Director of Los Angeles International Airport Andrew H. Douglas. “Travelers may even see our ‘Beagle Brigade,’ a specially trained canine team that can detect specific scents in travelers’ luggage associated with fruits, vegetables, meat and other products that could pose a threat.”

Highlighting the disruption invasive species can cause, California experienced the most pervasive invasive fruit fly outbreak in CDFA’s 100+ year history in 2023. Believed to be caused by unauthorized movement of infested agricultural products, the outbreaks established quarantines across the state, restricting thousands of acres of commercial agriculture operations and residents’ ability to share and enjoy their homegrown produce. There are currently two active invasive fruit fly quarantine areas in the state: a Mediterranean Fruit Fly quarantine area in parts of Alameda and Santa Clara counties, and an Oriental Fruit Fly quarantine in parts of Orange County.

Downloadable media assets, including high-resolution images and video content, are available here.

For more information, visit DontPackaPest.com.

Fruits and vegetables confiscated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. [Credit: Image courtesy of The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). All rights reserved. For media use only.]

Pictured (left to right): United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), California State Plant Health Director Helene Wright; U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Port Director of Los Angeles International Airport Andrew H. Douglas; California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), Director of Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services Victoria Hornbaker; Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office Deputy Director Khoa Lam; Orange County Agricultural Commissioner Jose Arriaga; Los Angeles World Airports, Public Information Officer Justin Upshaw. [Credit: Image courtesy of The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). All rights reserved. For media use only.]

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Agriculture Specialist Canine sniffing for fruits, vegetables, or meat products that could spread harmful pests, like invasive fruit flies.[Credit: Image courtesy of The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). All rights reserved. For media use only.]

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)