'I've been threatened with voodoo': Airport customs officers reveal what happens to prohibited food seized from passengers (and the bizarre threats they face on the job)

A behind-the-scenes video has revealed what happens to the tens of thousands of pounds of illegal food that is intercepted at airports every day.

It follows US Customs and Border Protection officers as they destroy prohibited items that were seized from airline passengers at New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport.

Contraband items include beef candy from China, mangos from India, peppers from Guyana and acorn-fed Iberico ham from Spain.

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Customs and Border Protection officers seize millions of pounds of fresh fruit and other products every year

In the video, supervisor Ellie Scaffa tells Great Big Story: ‘I’ve been threatened by Haiti with voodoo over food.

‘I’ve taken mangos from passengers from Jamaica and have been threatened with my life. Never a dull moment here at JFK.’

Scaffa said the airport processed 1.5million passengers last month and seized about 400-600lbs of food every day.

It usually peaks around the holidays, including Christmas, Easter and Chinese New Year.

Officers are tasked with seizing food items that are known to carry pests or animal diseases that can damage crops, livestock or the environment.

An US CBP agricultural canine team spots contraband food in an arriving passenger's bag at Miami's airport

Once they are discovered, contraband food items are taken to a room where they are destroyed in a grinder.

Scaffa said: ‘The grinder’s great. Sometimes I go home with a little bit of mango juice and passion fruit juice on, you’re just having fun, the water’s splashing in your face.

‘But this is what we have to do to protect American agriculture.’

US Customs and Border Protection said it intercepts millions of pounds of fresh fruit, vegetables, cut flowers, herbs and other items from individual passengers and commercial shipments every year.

All travellers entering the US are required to declare meats, fruits, vegetables, plants, seeds, soil, animals and plant and animal products, including soup or soup products.

Those who fail to declare prohibited products may face a fine of up to $1,000 for a first-time offence.