European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 17, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The stars and stripes Page 11 confiscations by . Customs explained my father was Here recently for a visit. Before he left he bought a Pound of chestnuts and a package of smoked meat from the Deli at the commissary. On the Day he left i called him to make sure he arrived. My dad told me that when he arrived in los Angeles International Airport the customs Man confiscated the nuts saying German nuts have bugs in them and All German meats  now Tell me i think . Inspectors give the same set of standards to the commissary inspectors Here Correct so either you be got people who think anything other than american goods Are bad or the inspectors Are letting bugged nuts and wormed meat into the Deli. What gives when i went to the states last year a woman had Flowers she had just bought at Leuropa florists a subsidiary of Ltd florists in the states. They did t say anything to her until it was time to land in new York. Then the Federal regulations blab blab. Flower sin the trash. I do think Ltd standards Are set worldwide Are they not a better Safe than sorry attitude does not Hel the people who get victimized and have their stuff thrown away just because these agents Are to Lazy to Check what is really  when we were in fort Bragg we were told by the German Florist that those Flowers were flown All the Way in from Africa but Leuropa Flowers Are no Good enough Gina Castillano Stuttgart West Germany editor s note . Russell agricultural adviser he 42nd my group custom replies i appreciate the Opportunity to answer your Reader s question concerning various agricultural products taken to the United states from Europe and Why they were confiscated at the first port of arrival Dur ing baggage inspection by . Department of Agri culture officers. Concerning the chestnuts and smoked meat take from the writer s dad at los Angeles International Airport chestnuts in Europe Are frequently infested with insects not established in . Crops of chestnuts or other crops. An example is a Weevil  that causes damage and crop losses wherever established. There Are numerous other pests in chestnuts that the . Crops do not have also. Prohibiting european chestnuts from entering the United states is meant to save the . Crops from this and other insects not established in the United states som commercial size shipments Are admitted Only after supervised fumigation to kill the insects. European meats can carry animal diseases that Are not established in our . Herds. Foot and Mouth disease is one in cattle in Europe but there Are others certainly. This disease normally does not affect people but can spread to cattle and certain other animals if they Are exposed to infected meat products. Yes the causal organism can readily survive Inmany european sausages and meat products if the animal was infected at time of Slaughter unless thereat is processed at a specified High temperature pressure and specified length of time. Many euro Pean meat products Are sold in military commissaries since the disease is not transmitted to the consumer generally and the products Are usually consumed i Europe. Most Cut Flowers corsages bouquets Etc carried by individuals in Small quantities Are admitted to the United states from foreign sources if the . Department of agriculture inspector does not see living insects on them when the passenger shows them atthe baggage inspection. Commercial shipments Are also carefully inspected and sometimes require treatment by chemicals heat or Coldor otherwise to eliminate the pest problem before release for Sale. This is True whatever the foreign source Europe Africa South America Etal. In All of these instances the us a is trying to prevent the entry of Plant insects diseases or animal diseases into . Crops or herds insects or Dis eases that Are not established in our country. Passengers can help greatly by understanding Why these agricultural products cannot be carried Back and then by following the  losses resulting from such insect and disease losses Are ultimately passed to the consumer and mean higher Cost of the product. . Farmers presently have some of the highest Quality products on the world mar Ket and it is done at some of the most efficient  foreign agricultural products Are permitted to enter the . Markets if found free of insects an diseases. Fruits and vegetables from around the world can be found in most . Markets but they must first be found free of injurious pests. Foreign meat products must also follow us a guidelines before being Al Lowed to enter the United states thus biological con Cerns Are the basis of these us a  from the travelling Public will contrib Ute significantly in continuing this High volume High Quality production of agricultural products whether chestnuts meats Flowers grains lumber Cotton or others. Please help the us a help you cafes phasing out plastic containers recently in Many articles in your paper and news week there has been discussion about the pollution of the Earth. One substance that was proved to be particularly dangerous was styrofoam commonly used in cups plates and fast food services in general. I would be grateful if you could ask cafes Why it is one of the main culprits in the use of the above mentioned substance being i assume fully aware of the hazards both Short and Long term. Surely cafes has some responsibility to the future generations too a they May also be its customers assuming they survive the Overall pollution we Are generating. I realize that styrofoam is not the Only dangerous substance but if everyone did their share in decreasing these poisons we might still be Able to save what is left. So please cafes Don t place Cost savings above the health of the planet. Change to some safer form of convenience packaging. Pamela c. Knudson Wiesbaden West Germany editor s note it. Col. Charlie White Public affairs officer he cafes Europe replies cafes uses dining facility food containers manufactured by Industry. Because of recent concerns about damage to the stratospheric Ozone layer caused by the use of Chloro fluorocarbon Csc produced packaging cafes contacted the food service and packaging Institute inc. A food service packaging Industry Trade association. We were informed that companies representing production of More than 99 percent of All plastic foam food service containers have pledged to phase out the use of full halogenated rfcs. The figure is less than 100 percent because of the refusal of one Small company which is Notan cafes source. The problem is resolving itself because of the responsible self policing efforts of the plastic foam food service Container Industry. We can All look Forward to a cleaner healthier environment in the near future. Dear Ann Landers a terrible tragedy happened to a Friend of mine recently. I fee that i must do whatever i can to see that it does t happen to any one else. That is Why i am writing this letter. My Friend Lori Lucero took her 6-year-old daughter to visit her Niece. The youngster found a handgun lying around thought it was a toy pointed it at her Mother and shot her in the head. Can you imagine the guilt that child will carry for the rest of her life the memory of what she did will haunt her for Ever. When in the name of god will this sort of thing Stop i know All about people s right to protect them selves against  that s always the excuse we hear when some innocent person is shot by a gun that just happened to be lying around. What about the right of innocent people like my Friend Lori please Ann print this letter. It just might make difference. Heavy grief in Salt Lake City dear Salt Lake City you did t Tell us How your Friend Lori was doing so we called the Salt Lake City police department an spoke with sgt. Don a. Bell. As i write this your Friend is still alive but her Condi Tion is grave. If she survives she will be totally disabled. What a terrible Price to pay because someone was care less. But incidents such As this one Are going to continue to happen every Day As Long As we have thousands of handguns Loose in this country. And please let us not dredge up that tired old slogan of the National Rifle association guns Don t kill  ple. People kill  any idiot knows that a gun cannot fire itself. But i have never heard of a person getting shot by anything but a gun. Dear Ann Landers we Are haying a difference of opinion in our office and have decided to let you Settle it. I am a 33-year-old working divorced Mother of an8-year-old daughter. On occasion when i am in the Shower my daughter will ask if she can hop in with me. I have always allowed her to do so. It is totally innocent. We sing silly songs i help her Wash and rinse her hair and i have never Felt that it might be sexually provocative or in any Way improper. The people i work with think this is out of line. They say my daughter is entirely too old to be taking Shower with her Mother. Are they right am i All wet in Ohio dear Ohio it is perfectly of for a Parent and child of the same sex to Shower together at any age. But Why May i ask Are you discussing this with the people at work this is Mother daughter stuff not office  Ann Landers my sister and her husband married 14 years Are getting divorced. It is not one of those Messy  is no other woman and no other Man. They just grew in different directions. The real casualties Are their three children Ages 7, 10 and 12. They Are bewildered torn and upset. Pleas help. Boston dear Boston run Don t walk to your nearest Bookstore and get copy of talking about divorce and separation by Earl a. Grollman published by Beacon press paper Back $6.95. It is written for children of divorcing parents has charming illustrations and is Worth its weight in Gold. European edition col Jeffrey m. Cook Usa commander editor in chief it col Suzanne l. Phillips Usan Deputy commander editor in chief Marie Kominicki Mert Proctor Deane b. 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