Issues with customs and baby formula

[erica520]

Hey there,
I've been reading tons of information on this board for quite sometime now! Many of you have been a tremendous help and I haven't had to post until now! I am packing up my things as we speak to relocate to Singapore from the US in the next 2 weeks. My son is on a specialty formula that I can not locate in Singapore. I have about 18 cans of powdered formula that we are going to bring with us until we can locate a substitute or he grows out of this need for it. Can anybody tell me their experience with having large amounts going through customs. I have heard stories that they slice open things like coffee and other powered goods to confirm they are what they say. If they do this with my formula then it is no good for me. It is only good for a month once opened. Is it best to pack in suit case? Pack in my air freight? or send in my ship freight container? Any insight would be wonderful. Thanks in advance for your help.

[Mad Scientist]

It takes about 4 to 6 weeks by sea from US . So I would suggest most the bulk of the milk cans goes by this route. If going by ocean as long as you declare it is milk product and clearly packed. I do not see any problem of custom opening all the cans. They may open one but not all.Very rare
From experience, they will hold your items and asked you to collect yourself at custom if they are suspicious but I doubt so if it is just milk powder and nothing else

Take a few cans by air just enough to last b4 your sea shipment arrives.
At border control declare if you are been stopped by custom. SG Custom NORMALLY DO NOT CHECK YOUR BAGS at the checkpoint unless you look very suspicious or when your bags are screened on the apron , it shows something that is NOT allowed in SG like contrabands etc.
They have NON INVASIVE SCANNING PROCESS hence you are caught b4 you even open the bags if you have something to hide.
Other than that welcome to SG.

[aster]

I too have brought lots of baby formula and never had an issue.

Do pack them each in a separate plastic bag because the last time one of my containers broke and I had baby formula all over the suitcase (I ended up throwing it away).

[merichan]

same advice as MS

take what you need to hold until the sea freight arrives with you

and the rest in the sea freight...


I passed all kinds of food products ( 2 of us at home have food allergies)


And the only question I got was once to open the suitcase to show a liter of rice milk packed inside an hermetic plastic box...

as soon as they saw the milk package, given that we had Little Miss with us... no further question asked.

To be completely on the safe side, I had the doctor provide a doctor's letter stating the dietary requirements ( also helped me a few time going through the liquid checks with liquid food... )