Airline Meal Leftovers Cost Man $6,200 in Taiwan
If you can't finish your meal at a restaurant, you might ask the staff to put your food in a box so you can take it home. We don't want to feel we've wasted food — or money.
But a man who tried to enter Taiwan this April found out that sometimes taking leftovers with you can cost more money than it saves.
A passenger flying from Hong Kong to Taiwan took some of his airplane meal with him when he arrived. It was roast pork, chicken, some vegetables and rice.
An airport dog sniffed out the food and the man's bag was checked.
Taiwan doesn't let people bring pork products onto the island from places that have been affected by African swine fever.
The man, from Indonesia, was told to pay a fine of more than $6,200. But since he didn't have enough money, he was deported.
He won't be able to return to Taiwan until he has paid the fine.
Since 2018, when the first case of African swine fever was reported in China, it's said that almost half of that country's female pigs have died or been killed.
The disease has also been found in places like Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
It's not a danger to people, but it can have "devastating effects" on pigs and on the farming economy, according to the World Organization for Animal Health.
Taiwan has not yet been affected by the disease, which has a fatality rate of about 80% among pigs.
Taiwanese officials said the country has encouraged airlines not to use pork products in their meals so things like this don't happen.
Passengers are also told before they get off the plane — and before they enter Taiwan — about the things they cannot bring onto the island.
