Where's the beef? Not at MSP, after customs seized traveler's $2,000 in illegal meat

A traveler attempted to declare more than 80 pounds of beef biltong last week at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport before federal border officials seized the cache.

The traveler claimed the meat — a sliced, dried and cured delicacy native to South Africa, where the traveler originated — cost him more than $2,000 and asked authorities not to take away the beef, per a release from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection field office in Chicago.

"Our nation's food supply is constantly at risk to diseases not known to occur in the United States," said Augustine Moore, area port director for Minneapolis, in a statement. "This interception highlights the vigilance and dedication that our CBP Agriculture Specialists demonstrate daily."

Customs officials said they work to alert the traveling public about strictures on carrying foreign meat into the U.S. out of precaution around animal pathogens, including foot-and-mouth disease.

The man arrived on June 14 and asked to declare his 83 pounds of red meat. After officials X-rayed five of his bags, they discovered what the agency called "organic anomalies."