U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Virginia intercepted a shipment of counterfeit commercial kitchen equipment worth about $38,000, preventing it from reaching a Chicago-area address.
CBP officers at the Area Port of Norfolk-Newport News initially inspected a container on July 30 containing a charcoal chicken grill, a charcoal kabob grill, a falafel fryer, a pizza oven, three shawarma five-burner gas grills, and a rotisserie chicken grill shipped from Jordan and destined for a Chicago suburb. Officers noticed that the manufacturers plates lacked the proper UL certification file numbers required by law.
An authentic UL mark ensures that equipment meets minimum safety standards. Suspecting the marks were counterfeit, CBP detained the shipment and forwarded photographs and documentation to trade experts at the Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising Center of Excellence and Expertise. Working with UL brand protection specialists, CBP confirmed that the UL design mark was unauthorized. The shipment was seized on Aug. 25…