People used to fly with a roast to Israel.
After moving to Israel I remember hearing what I thought were crazy stories about people putting frozen kosher meat in their suitcases when flying back from the U.S. and Canada.
I then discovered it was a pretty common practice and even became acceptable to Israeli customs officials.
Why had this been going on? Apparently, many Zionistic meat connoisseurs hadn’t yet found what they were looking for in the Holy Land.
Did the meat survive the ordeal? It sure did. After all, it’s pretty cold up there in the clouds.
As long as the meat was frozen solid before liftoff, it wouldn’t defrost under the plane or spoil on its journey.
A change in direction
Years later I see people doing this less and less because better good quality meats are now available in Israel.
Interestingly enough, the opposite has occurred and passengers going on personal holiday from Israel to other destinations are taking frozen meats with them.
I definitely see this with regards to hormone free, natural fed meats, as I get calls from customers asking to package an order specially for their luggage.
Doing so is rarely an issue as all my meats and poultry are vacuum packed so there is never a problem with freezing them and traveling abroad.
Having worked with my customers to make sure their meats stay fresh for the duration of their trips, the biggest piece of advice I have on traveling with meats is check your destination to make sure it allows brisket or lamb chops upon entry.