UK customs/illegal import?

[Blagger]

Hi guys,

I'm new here but have been using kava for some time in the UK, I have never had an issue importing kava other than the usual sting of some customs charges. I ordered some kava kava candies from Ozia Originals and they have been seized by customs a couple of weeks ago I was pretty down because I was looking forward to trying the candies and the loss of money. I thought its only $40 and moved on with life. Now this morning I have received a letter from the food safety team from Warwick district council, explaining the legality and requesting my intended use....

So should i be worried or is this just a paper trail so they can happily destroy my kava

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Groggy]

Hi guys,

I'm new here but have been using kava for some time in the UK, I have never had an issue importing kava other than the usual sting of some customs charges. I ordered some kava kava candies from Ozia Originals and they have been seized by customs a couple of weeks ago I was pretty down because I was looking forward to trying the candies and the loss of money. I thought its only $40 and moved on with life. Now this morning I have received a letter from the food safety team from Warwick district council, explaining the legality and requesting my intended use....

So should i be worried or is this just a paper trail so they can happily destroy my kava

Thanks for any advice.

I would tell them it's the only thing that seems to ease your pets anxiety. In the UK you can use kava to the benefit of your pet legally. That should avoid future customs problems.

 

[Edward]

Hi guys,

I'm new here but have been using kava for some time in the UK, I have never had an issue importing kava other than the usual sting of some customs charges. I ordered some kava kava candies from Ozia Originals and they have been seized by customs a couple of weeks ago I was pretty down because I was looking forward to trying the candies and the loss of money. I thought its only $40 and moved on with life. Now this morning I have received a letter from the food safety team from Warwick district council, explaining the legality and requesting my intended use....

So should i be worried or is this just a paper trail so they can happily destroy my kava

Thanks for any advice.

Other members have had this happen and said the kava got sent when they said it was a pet supplement.

 

[yiki]

Say you have not ordered anything and you don't know what a "kavas candy" is.

 

[The Kap'n]

It's only legal for pets, so the only thing you can put there, by law, is that you're using it for your pets. At least that's the way I see it.

 

[Rick.Sanchez]

My understanding is that it is essentially illegal to buy or sell for human consumption in the UK.

So the KF policy on kava vendors selling K@ should also extend to kava vendors who ship to the UK? Or I must be missing something

 

[The Kap'n]

My understanding is that it is essentially illegal to buy or sell for human consumption in the UK.

So the KF policy on kava vendors selling K@ should also extend to kava vendors who ship to the UK? Or I must be missing something

It extends only to those vendors selling K@ and kava together, whether they're in the US, UK, or Mars.

 

[yiki]

It's only legal for pets, so the only thing you can put there, by law, is that you're using it for your pets. At least that's the way I see it.

These people are not idiots. They know very well that these candies are produced and bought for human consumption only.

 

[The Kap'n]

These people are not idiots. They know very well that these candies are produced and bought for human consumption only.

Oh, nobody will argue with you on that one. It does make you wonder why they even ask for what you're using them for though.

 

[SelfBiasResistor]

I think the point @Rick.Sanchez was making is the policy clearly states :

"We do not condone the practice of selling K@ for human consumption due to the fact that the act is illegal. It is the stance of kavaforums.com that the practice of selling kava with K@ implies the intent of selling it for human consumption."

It does make me wonder why so much effort has been put into anti-tudei and anti-K@ campaigns when selling kava in a large part of the world was about to become illegal? There was talk of kava being added to the codex, how will that be effected by this situation?

 

[Rick.Sanchez]

I think the point @Rick.Sanchez was making is the policy clearly states :

"We do not condone the practice of selling K@ for human consumption due to the fact that the act is illegal. It is the stance of kavaforums.com that the practice of selling kava with K@ implies the intent of selling it for human consumption."

Exactly. Supposedly, it had everything to do with the fact that K@ is illegal to sell for human consumption, because kava vendors selling K@ are breaking the law by trying to use 'not for human consumption' loopholes to get around the fact that K@ probably can't be sold as a food item or dietary supplement. Kava vendors selling kava to people in the UK under the guise of "pet food" are using the exact same sort of loophole. It's obviously being sold for human consumption in both cases.

However, it's always been pretty obvious that the minor penalties to vendors selling K@ was never really about it being illegal. It seems more like a knee jerk reaction. At the very least, though, if you're going to use that as rationale for your policy against kava vendors selling K@, you should be consistent about your stance. Otherwise, there's obviously more to the K@ policy than legality.

Anyways. Don't want to hijack OP's thread, and usually these discussions turn into people piling on K@ hate, so I might just leave things at that...

 

[Rick.Sanchez]

The policy was implemented in light of the reports suggesting that selling K@ via kava businesses in the united states may threaten the current legal status (and reputation) of kava in America. No such threat when it comes to sending kava to the UK.

So it's really about trying to distance kava from K@. That's what I thought...

 

[SelfBiasResistor]

The policy was implemented in light of the reports suggesting that selling K@ via kava businesses in the united states may threaten the current legal status (and reputation) of kava in America. No such threat when it comes to sending kava to the UK.

As pointed out above, that's not what the policy states. It also makes little sense since the plants work by totally different mechanisms and are no way related to each other. Education would clearly make a distinction between the two, not the usual fear mongering and saying that it is unethical to put "not for human consumption" on a product that is intended for consumption.

Edit: the fact that kava is not allowed to be sold for consumption in Euro countries has the potential to do far more damage to kava's reputation than the selling of another legal herb that the vast majority of people in the country have never heard of.

 

[Groggy]

My understanding is that it is essentially illegal to buy or sell for human consumption in the UK.

So the KF policy on kava vendors selling K@ should also extend to kava vendors who ship to the UK? Or I must be missing something

The KF policy and the op's question have nothing to do with one another. Please stay on topic.

 

[Rick.Sanchez]

The KF policy and the op's question have nothing to do with one another. Please stay on topic.

I only mentioned it because we were talking about kava being illegal to sell for human consumption, and the rationale for the rule on K@ would also apply to the sale of kava for human consumption, so it was related in that regard.

But I otherwise agree which is why I mentioned not wanting to hijack OP's thread with more K@ nonsense. Just wanted some clarification

 

[kasa_balavu]

The UK law against kava was implemented as a knee-jerk reaction to the Germany ban. I very much doubt anyone in authority in the UK wants it to be illegal or cares that it is. But the poor guy holding the rubber stamp at the border does have to follow the letter of the law.
Saying the kava is for your dog gives him cover and frees him from liability.

Unless he's having a bad day, you should get your kava.

 

[SelfBiasResistor]

The forum isn't run by lawyers and the forum's guidelines aren't international treaties. I merely explained to you what the motivation/spirit behind the policy was (at least how I understand it).

Re "not for human consumption" on packages intended for Europe. AFAIK this isn't something that any vendor I know here would put on their product. Instead, they label their products (correctly) as "Herbal tea" or "Pacific island roots". It is their customer in the UK who tried to persuade their customs officials that it wasn't intended for human consumption.

OK, I've just seen how the product is marketed by the vendor(s) as clearly being not for consumption (I have no issue with this, I just think consistency is good). The problem that I see going forward is if people are referring to their pets usage of kava, the forum could start to look like a bit like drugs forum and that would be very bad image wise.

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

OK, I've just seen how the product is marketed by the vendor(s) as clearly being not for consumption (I have no issue with this, I just think consistency is good). The problem that I see going forward is if people are referring to their pets usage of kava, the forum could start to look like a bit like drugs forum and that would be very bad image wise.

Some Dog Who Isn't Myself barked all night after drinking Squanch.

 

[Blagger]

So I replied to the council following some advice from you guys, thank you by the way.
Unfortunately it didn't work because the kava is in a confectionery based form meaning it is food and therefore designed for human consumption, oh well I tried. Now they have said they're going to destroy the package at my expense. I've requested the package be returned at my expense presuming it will be cheaper and I may get a refund. We'll see.

Thanks again.

 

[SelfBiasResistor]

So they will even charge you to destroy the package? Was there an actual law passed prohibiting the consumption of kava? I'm not that familiar with the English legal system but this seems to be a bit ridiculous.