goldi Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 Has anybody had their food cupboard checked for meat and dairy food by the French customs or will this go the same way as the breathalyser ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 This September 2021 Caravan & Motorhome Club forum thread may be worth reading through. https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/club-together/discussions/welcome-hobby-talk/caravan-motorhome-chat/taking-food-to-europe-in-your-fridge/?p=1 The regulations relating to what types of food are prohibited from being taken from the UK into EU countries are clearly defined, as is the right of an EU country's customs authority to check if a traveller is breaking those rules and, if so, to confiscate the prohibited foodstuff and prosecute the offender. What online comments there about this, strongly suggest that - up to now - French customs authorities have not enforced these regulations. (The law about a breathalyser having to be carried in motor vehicles was a unique French initiative - the food regulations relating to prohibited foodstuff are EU rules and apply to all EU countries, not just France.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zydeco Joe Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 Crossed the channel Dover - Calais December - late Feb this year No Checks on food both ways. Never did buy a breathalyser.. B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simian Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 Don't think French customs in general are overly interested in small personal food quantities, although if you give them any degree of grief they may take exception, after all they do randomly open cupboards looking for more 'serious' contraband. Have had F. customs open cupboards looking for migrants, could say that's meat products! Many years ago I had a beef sandwich 'confiscated' at a wild and woolly Slavic border control post. The customs officer took it off me (just because he could I suppose), and hastily gobbled it in front of me....greedy bast*rd :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Den Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 We traveled last July and no checks on any campers. Wife just said, she’s taking French butter and French cheese. I’m taking Tesco organic milk ( being a milkaholic ) I like to have the first week enjoying drinking my favourite milk. One will be in the fridge and the rest ??? So ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mildi Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 I own a campsite in France and have many guests from the UK, No one so far has been checked that I have spoken to. Lots who arrive have a fridge full of food. Anyone heading my way Cathedral city mature cheddar please!!!!!! :-D I will not mention the B word Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GandJP Posted April 3, 2022 Share Posted April 3, 2022 I see no point in risking taking anything so last year traveled empty and on arrival just went to a supermarket and got everything we needed. Its the bringing back of excess wine that I might risk as we always brought back a years worth and now we can't. I did have about 6 litres too much last year because I had forgotted we had already bought some during our trip but we were just waved onward when we got back here luckily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevec176 Posted April 3, 2022 Share Posted April 3, 2022 If you want to fill the fridge then go ahead and do it, what's the worst that can happen, customs confiscate it. It sounds like there's only a small chance of being stopped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simian Posted April 3, 2022 Share Posted April 3, 2022 Reports of people actually being 'done' for food importing are notable by their absence. Although on occasion had my cupboards cursorily opened by French customs I've never been queried on matters of food importation. Although apart from teabags for the missus and the next meal I've never felt it necessary in any event to import food from the UK into France, so maybe I don't have a suspiciously nervous guilty twitch about me ! Seriously though, not something I would worry about, if specifically questioned on whether I was carrying food, then I would answer honestly adding that it was just for personal consumption. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 3, 2022 Share Posted April 3, 2022 For what it's worth, this issue was discussed here in a 4-page-long thread in December 2020/January 2021 https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/No-Food-to-be-Taken-to-Europe-/57186/ and again here in in February 2021 https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Food-to-be-taken-into-the-EU/57567/ and in February 2022 https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Taking-fresh-food-into-France/59595/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldi Posted April 5, 2022 Author Share Posted April 5, 2022 Good morning, Thanks for all your comments folks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minstrel Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 We always used to take containers with curry and Bolognese for quick easy meals for the first couple of days, perhaps I might risk that when we go next month and if they don't approve of the milk so be it, but no tea of coffee for me without milk if they take it away. We always travel late in the day so no chance of shoppping until the following day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 As the 'food' regulations are clear enough https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/carry/meat-dairy-animal/index_en.htm#:~:text=If%20you%20travel%20to%20the,fish%20products%20are%20also%20allowed. informed UK travellers can either deliberately choose not to comply and risk being caught on arriving in an EU country, or comply and know that they are 'safe'. Besides which there are plenty of vegetarian/vegan alternatives to the banned meat/dairy products: so if milk in tea/coffee on Night One Abroad is an absolute must-have, perhaps thinking laterally and being a little adventurous would be an option. https://proveg.com/plant-based-food-and-lifestyle/vegan-alternatives/the-10-best-plant-based-milks/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 I hope this link works OK: https://tinyurl.com/ygbxgmgh It is to REGULATION (EU) 2019/2122, of 10 October 2019. Intended to clarify some earlier conflicts in and between various earlier versions of the regulations. If you skip straight to Articles 6 to 9, I get the impression that some clarifications and relaxations have taken place since we first became subject to these regulations. Seemingly, which may well explain why members of this forum have not experienced difficulties recently, the food product are exempt from controls if "they are intended for consumption by the crew and passengers on board means of transport operating internationally; and they are not unloaded on Union territory". Then refer to Article 7 for the more precise guidance over what, and how, much can be taken in. It seems that so far as France is concerned, a motorhome is being treated as a means of transport, and coming from the UK is travelling internationally, and that the contents of the van are being treated as luggage and so exempt. I'm sure there will be a few twists to this, and I have yet to explore "Part 1 of Annex I" as I am not intending to cross the channel until later this year. Just to say the link works OK for me! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocs Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 Well done for that piece of research, Brian. It seems that some common sense has crept into the regulations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 The 2019 regulation Brian refers to is mentioned on the following link that summarises the rules https://ec.europa.eu/food/animals/animal-products-movements/personal-imports_en (I'm unconvinced by Brian's diagnosis of how the EU regulation might be advantageously applied to motorcaravanners entering the EU from the UK, but as the regulation won't impact on me that's academic.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simian Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 To quote, "it's impossible to to drive more than a few miles in the UK without breaking some Regulation or Law no matter how diligent you are" No doubt much the same applies to other activities and countries. Now that the UK are regarded as 3rd country status then the application and interpretation of new Regs. and Laws are guaranteed to make for confusion, was certainly enough confusion and misinterpretation pre B****T ! Legally "No Meat Products" means just that. However in practice it's going to be a particularly officious Customs Officer that collars an individual cross Channel M/homer carrying a beef sandwiche, a few rashers of bacon, or a pork pie or 2. However a C.O. may well take exception to someone with a suitcase of uncertified bush meat flying in from Nigeria. Just up to the individual to make their own judgements. I don't eat meat, so it follows that I don't have this dilemma :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 Derek Uzzell - 2022-04-13 7:28 AM The 2019 regulation Brian refers to is mentioned on the following link that summarises the rules https://ec.europa.eu/food/animals/animal-products-movements/personal-imports_en (I'm unconvinced by Brian's diagnosis of how the EU regulation might be advantageously applied to motorcaravanners entering the EU from the UK, but as the regulation won't impact on me that's academic.) Agreed, Derek, but as previous versions of the actual regulations seemed to conflict with one another (especially around what was a "means of transport travelling internationally", which had, apparently, been taken in some instances to mean as only applicable to passengers on coaches), I thought it might also be helpful to also provide a link to the latest (supposedly consolidated and de-bugged) "horse's mouth" version of the actual regulation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 simian - 2022-04-13 12:38 PM ................................... Legally "No Meat Products" means just that. However in practice it's going to be a particularly officious Customs Officer that collars an individual cross Channel M/homer carrying a beef sandwiche, a few rashers of bacon, or a pork pie or 2............... :-D But if you follow Derek's link to the regulation summary (or mine to the actual regulation) you will see that the limit on imported meat is actually 2kg, so it would have to be at least a "family sized" pork pie, rather more than a "few" rashers of bacon, or a positively huge beef sandwich, even if you were carrying all three! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyLou Posted May 5, 2022 Share Posted May 5, 2022 We crossed over last month with no checks if that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddies104 Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 Crossed over last week, and took 10 minutes through all the checks, having been told to allow 90 minutes, so was really pleased even though we then had to then wait a while for the DFDS ferry. No checks in the Van. :-> Also sailed through the entrance into Dover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GandJP Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 Came home today after two weeks in France via Portsmouth to Caen with no checks going other than passports but a little bit more on return with inside checked for stowaways in France and again in Portsmouth and extra care checking passport photographs. No interest in fridge contents going or the amount of wine we brought back or anything like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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