Down on the Allotment

Matron grows vegetables and fruit in a Hampshire garden. I've been growing veggies since I was knee high to a grasshopper. Some traditional varieties and old favourites as well as new ideas. I share my garden with my allotment assistant Daisy the Labrador. On Twitter as @MatronsVeggies

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Personal Food Imports

Just thought I'd share with you the information that you can get from the DEFRA website that will show you which items of food you can bring back into the UK from holiday, and which you cannot. For the non-UK bloggers out there DEFRA is the UK Government Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. If you want to bring back guavas, passion fruit, seafood or snail meat... yes! snail meat is on the list!! this website will let you know what you can legally bring back to the UK.
If like me you enjoy travelling abroad, there must be times when you want to bring back certain fruit and vegetable items to enjoy at home. This is where it is useful to refer to the Defra website. Just indicate to which country you will be travelling (USA for example) and this easy guide will show you which food items you will be allowed to bring back into the UK. As a rule of thumb, the EEC is 'one big happy family' and there are few restrictions.

7 Comments:

At 12:51 PM, Blogger Jennieworld said...

Thank you for this - I'm going to Malta in a few weeks and so will be interested to follow the link and see what I can and can't bring back.

 
At 1:24 PM, Blogger vuejardin said...

Pineapples are more expensive in UK, I just bought one for 2.99usd here.
I try to grow pineapple from the top green tip, but it won't last over cold winter.

 
At 2:06 PM, Blogger Tattyanne said...

wish I knew about this last year matron when we went to Turkey! we were picking the most amazing sized pomegrannets (?), but we left them all behind.

 
At 4:31 PM, Anonymous kitsapFG said...

Not sure I will be needing that info in the near future (no international travel plans other than a quick pop up to Canada in late May) - but the pictures were certainly eye candy! Lucious exotic fruit is pretty easy on the eyes.

 
At 5:02 PM, Anonymous Soilman said...

That's extraordinary, Matron. Only the other day I was wondering where I could get some snail meat from...!?!?

 
At 7:10 AM, Anonymous Karen said...

Curious where you took those pics - and why it shows the German word for pineapple in that last picture! A family member was once prohibited from bringing back a giant wheel of Fontina Val d'Aosta cheese to the US and I think he almost cried as he sat in the airport and ate as much as he could of it before having to toss it out. Good to know in advance, as you so rightly point out!

 
At 8:07 AM, Blogger Matron said...

Karen, The pineapples were in The Azores last year. They grow under glass there.

 

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