What food can I take to the United Kingdom?

Being aware of the regulations for bringing food into the United Kingdom (UK) is essential when one is traveling there. The UK has stringent rules to safeguard its agriculture and prevent disease outbreaks. In this article, we’ll look at what foods you can and can’t bring into the UK as well as how much you can bring in.

Bringing Food into Great Britain

Great Britain, which includes England, Scotland, and Wales, has specific rules on bringing food or animal products for personal use. These stipulations vary from those of Northern Ireland.

The following items can be brought into Great Britain from any country without restrictions:

• Any kind of bread excluding meat-filled sandwiches or cream-filled ones
• Cakes minus fresh cream
• Biscuits
• Chocolate and other confectionery except those with significant amounts of raw dairy ingredients
• Pasta and noodles that are not stuffed or mixed with meat or meat products,
• Soups sold in cans or packs & seasonings
• Processed plant products packed like salads etc & frozen vegetable material only
• Food supplements contain a small amount of animal products such as fish oil capsules.

However, there are controls on importing fruit, vegetables nuts seeds fish, animal products, and meat into Great Britain.

Restricted Items

If you are bringing in any food or animal products protected by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), you must apply for a CITES permit.

Travelers arriving from outside the EU will need phytosanitary certificates for their plants and plant products when they enter GB. From January 2021 this will also apply to travelers coming from the EU whilst all regulated plants and plant products entering GB through the EU will require phytosanitary certificates from April 2021 onwards.

Allowances for Different Types of Goods 

When traveling to the UK from another country, certain quantities of goods may be brought in without payment of UK duty/tax. These must be for personal use or gifts.

If you plan to sell or receive any payment for the goods, this is considered commercial use. Any amounts of goods above these allowances require a declaration and payment of tax and duties based on the full amount entering the UK in that category or categories exceeded.

Here are the allowances for different types of goods:

Type of Good	Allowance
Alcohol	4 litres of spirits or strong liqueurs (over 22% ABV), or 9 litres of fortified wine (such as port or sherry), sparkling wine or any other alcoholic beverage of less than 22% ABV. You may combine these allowances, provided that you do not exceed your total alcohol allowance.
Tobacco	200 cigarettes, 100 cigarillos, 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco. You may combine these allowances, provided that you do not exceed your total tobacco allowance.
Perfume	50g or 100ml of perfume.
Souvenirs	Goods to a total value of £390 if travelling by air, sea or rail, or £270 if travelling by other means.

Bringing Fruit, Vegetables, Nuts, and Seeds into Great Britain

The rules about bringing fruit, vegetables, nuts, and seeds into Great Britain depend on where they are being brought from. From the EU (including Switzerland and Liechtenstein), you can bring in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds as an individual. However, most fruits or vegetables cannot be allowed from other countries outside the EU without phytosanitary (plant health) certificates.

Only these items may be brought in without phytosanitary certificates:

• Pineapple
• Kiwi
• Coconut
• Citrus fruits such as oranges lemons limes grapefruit etc.,
• Kumquat
• Persimmon
• Durian
• Curry leaves
• Banana plantain,
• Mangoes,
• Dates,
• Passion fruit,
• Guava,
• Processed plant products packed like salads etc & frozen vegetable material only.
• Peeled nuts or nut butter
• Certain kinds of grains like rice

Read also Medications not allowed in the United Kingdom and What can you not bring to the UK

Bringing Food into the UK for Personal Use

It is crucial that you know about the dangers of bringing and eating some foodstuffs when traveling to the UK. It is recommended that travelers choose non-perishable foods, e.g., biscuits and other heat-processed foodstuffs, instead of fresh food products including meat.

If someone brings perishable refrigerated food it may cause bacterial growth which results in food poisoning as they are often kept at room temperature for a long time such as when in overhead stowage compartments in an airplane. Additionally, these types of food items especially meat might also have pathogenic bacteria and viruses from their country of origin thus can cause such diseases to spread within the UK.

To bring larger quantities of food products for personal use, you need to obtain a trader’s license or register with relevant authorities so as to get an import permit meant for commercial food imports.

Conclusion

When flying to the U.K., it is important that you familiarize yourself with the rules regarding bringing in food. The amount and type of goods one can bring without attracting duty and tax restrictions are allowable on some items. Any imported foods should be declared at all times if brought from outside EU countries in order for them not to be allowed into the country since there are selected products that could put your health at risk. Keep this overview handy while traveling safely and unfettered by concerns over breaching the U.K.’s provisions on feeding merchandise.