Bringing food into Great Britain

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Meat, dairy, fish and animal products

The rules on bringing meat, dairy, fish and other animal products depend on the country you’re bringing it from.

From the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, the Faroe Islands and Greenland

You can bring in the following for personal use:

  • dairy (there are restrictions if you’re bringing in sheep or goat milk, including milk products)
  • fish
  • meat (there are restrictions if you’re bringing in pork, sheep or goat products)
  • other animal products - for example, eggs and honey

​You need to properly dispose of any leftover animal products so that livestock, wild boar and other animals cannot eat them.

You cannot bring in food from other countries on a connecting flight.

If you’re bringing in any animal by-products that are not for human consumption they must be either:

Sheep and goat products for human consumption

You can only bring in lamb, mutton, milk, cheese and other sheep and goat products if they’re:

  • commercially packaged with an EU identification mark
  • stamped with a health mark if it’s a carcass

You cannot bring any sheep or goat milk (and milk products like cheese or yoghurt) from Greece or Romania.

Sheep and goat products not for human consumption 

You can bring in sheep and goat products for non human consumption (for example, pet food) if they’re either: 

  • commercially packaged with the feed manufacturer’s name and address
  • labelled with a description of the product and the category of animal by-product

Pork or pork products for human consumption

You can only bring in pork or pork products if they’re either:

  • commercially packaged with an EU identification mark
  • stamped with a health mark if it’s a carcass

You can bring in up to 2kg per person.

Pork or pork products not for human consumption

You can only bring in pork or pork products if they’re either:

  • commercially packaged with the feed manufacturer’s name and address
  • labelled with a description of the product and the category of animal by-product

You can bring in up to 2kg per person.

If you need to dispose of any pork or pork products before entering the UK, you must do it in a secure bin.

From countries outside the EU

If you’re bringing food from a country outside the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, the Faroe Islands and Greenland, the following rules apply.

You cannot bring in:

  • meat or meat products
  • milk or milk-based products, except powdered infant milk, infant food or special food (including pet food) needed for medical reasons

You can bring in up to 2kg per person of:

  • honey
  • powdered infant milk, infant food, or special food (including pet food) needed for medical reasons - you can only bring it in if it does not need to be refrigerated before use, and is in branded, unopened packaging (unless in current use)
  • shellfish, such as mussels or oysters
  • snails - these must be preserved or shelled, cooked and prepared
  • frogs’ legs - these must be the back (hind) part of the frog with the skin and internal organs removed
  • insect meat

You can bring in up to 20kg per person in total of fish, including:

  • fresh fish - must be gutted
  • fish products
  • processed fish - must be dried, cooked, cured or smoked
  • lobsters
  • prawns

You cannot bring in caviar unless you have a CITES permit.

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