5 things you need to know about bringing food back from your hols

Whether it's fabulous French cheese or scrumptious sausage from Germany, one of the best parts of travelling to new places is trying out the cuisine!

But if you want to take a piece of your holiday home with you in the form of food, you'll need to be aware of the strict rules on what products you can bring into the UK from abroad.

When travelling within the EU you can carry food or drink across borders, but there are stricter rules on what you can bring back into the UK from abroad. To make it through customs smoothly, follow our guide on what you can and can't take into the UK:

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Travelling from the EU?

The rules are simple: Border Force UK, the Government's law enforcement agency, states that you are free to bring back any meat, dairy or other animal products you wish, including shellfish and honey, from any country within the European Union to the UK. You can also bring back fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

Although there are no limits to the alcohol you can bring in from EU countries, you can be expected to answer questions if you bring more than:

Beer: 110 litres
Wine: 90 litres
Spirits: 10 litres
Fortified wine (eg, sherry, port): 20 litres

Exceptions?

There are always exceptions to any rule. Although Gibraltar is part of the EU, it is outside the Community customs territory, so is treated as a non-EU country. This is also true of any goods from areas of Cyprus that are not under effective control of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus.

5 things you need to know about bringing food back from your holiday

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Food from outside the EU?

If you're travelling from outside the European Union, it is prohibited to bring in any meat, dairy products or potatoes. You are, however, permitted to bring back up to 2kg of fruit and vegetables, up to 20kg of fish, and 2kg of eggs or honey per person.

Alcohol from outside the EU?

If you want to bring alcohol back to the UK from a non-EU country, you are allowed:

Beer: 16 litres
Wine (not sparkling): 4 litres

And either:

Spirits and other liquors with over 22% alcohol: 1 litre
Fortified wine (eg. port, sherry), sparkling wine and alcoholic drinks up to 22% alcohol: 2 litres

Exceptions?

If you are travelling from the Faroe Islands, Greenland or Iceland, you are allowed a combined weight of meat or dairy products of up to 10kg per person.

For full details on what you can and can’t bring back, visit gov.uk.

Taking food to the EU

Thinking of bringing food on holiday? When travelling within the EU, you can bring meat or dairy products as long as they're for personal consumption. This also applies to fruit and veg, provided it has been grown in the EU.

However, since Brexit, there are stricter rules on what you can bring to the EU from the UK. You are not allowed to bring any meat or dairy products, but you can bring a limited amount of fruit and veg, eggs and honey.