What you cant bring into the US through customs

I am receiving so many emails every day about things you can and cannot bring through customs, that I decided to give you a quick overview of items that are restricted:

• Absinthe - Is illegal to bring into the country
• Biological Agents (Bacteria, Fungi) - require a special permit
• Cultural Artifacts that may have been stolen
• Dog or Cat Fur - this just relates to products containing the fur, not the actual animal
• drugs (medicinal) - you need to carry a prescription
  declare all drugs and carry them in their original containers
• drugs (narcotic) - most narcotic drugs are illegal in the United States. I once met a couple from Holland who I had to convince really hard not to carry any coca leaves from Peru to Holland (where they are legal), since they had a layover in the US. Finally they agreed to mail it directly. I doubt that they had a prescription.
• Anything from embargoed countries - Arriving from Mexico once, the immigration official kept asking me about cigars, trying to find out if I had any of them. Most likely they would have originated in Cuba. Embargoed Countries include:
  -Cuba
  -Iran (not everything)
  -Iraq (only some items)
  -Serbia and Montenegro
  -North Korea
  -Burma
  -Angola
  -Liberia
  -Sierra Leone (only diamonds)
• firearms - use a special importer for those
• fish
  
• food - many prepared foods are o.k. to bring, but anything containing meat and rice is forbidden. It is o.k. to bring bakery items, sweets, condiments, oils, packaged spices, honey, coffee, tea, wine, beer and spirits.
• fruits and vegetables are not allowed
• medication - see drugs (medicinal)
• lifestock, poutlry and meats - are not allowed or strictly regulated
• pets - have all documents in order, all vaccinations (even optional ones) and prepare for quarantine
• plants - often not allowed, even products handmade from straw must be declared
• soil - not allowed
• wildlife - endangered species and any product made from them (e.g. ivory) are strictly forbidden. Antiques are an exception if they are at least 100 years old. Shop wisely for souvenirs!

The official site to keep an eye on is found over here.

I think the logic behind not allowing rice/plant products is that they could contain pests that could disrupt our crops because our crops are not used to them.