UK to EU Food question

[DDJC]

Is there a list of exactly what foodstuffs you are allowed to bring from UK to EU? Milk and ham and cheese and such, is pretty obvious, but what if you had something with traces of dairy?

Hypothetically and alternatively, a distant relative of mine has two disabled sons who loved travelling, but have extremely restricted diets. How easy/hard is it to ensure they had something they could eat, without energising the border peelers?

 

[WillH]

Why not just purchase fresh food once over there, EU supermarkets stock broadly the same range of foods that are available here. We have never been at a loss in over 30 years of travelling. Is there a specific food they need that you know isn't available?

 

[Badknee]

Go empty and buy at the first supermarket, saying that nobody looked in our Moho Portsmouth to Santander never mind our fridge in December.

 

[DDJC]

Why not just purchase fresh food once over there, EU supermarkets stock broadly the same range of foods that are available here. We have never been at a loss in over 30 years of travelling. Is there a specific food they need that you know isn't available?

Oh believe me, I could spend a lifetime in a big French or Italian hypermarket! Those endless meat counters, staffed by proper big fat, bloody-aproned butchers! Those cheese islands groaning under the weight of my favourite fromage. Apples the size of melons. A hundred different types of tomatoes. Enough bread to send me into a diabetic coma, twice over. Those amazing little tubs of goey salad. A wine aisle longer than a dozen RS Emotions. Love them!

But my boys... sorry my distant cousin's boys, will sometimes not eat unless it is something that they are accustomed to. They can't live on ice cream!!

So it's Tesco frozen sausages, back bacon, S & V ridged crisps (McCoys), Skips, rice puffs, mixture of three types of chocolate cereal and battered chicken. I can make substitutes of some, but we need a couple of days of the real things before their autism accepts that they have to move to a different regime. Happily, one will eat pizza and the other will eat chips... but only with chicken gravy!

 

[DDJC]

Go empty and buy at the first supermarket, saying that nobody looked in our Moho Portsmouth to Santander never mind our fridge in December.

Cheers. Santander & Iberia is 2024. I was wondering how energetic the French are at the tunnel!

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[carolyn]

I assumed it was your sons rather than a distant relatives’ but I’m sure the other posters don’t realise what a problem it can be for children /adolescents with autism. I dont think there’s any sort of medical certificate that would help in these sorts of situations either.

There have been quite a few threads where people have said they’ve gone through without being checked at all but you are are of course breaking the law. I suppose you have to balance how your conscience would feel and do your own risk benefit analysis.

I’m not sure how strict they would be about something like Bisto gravy granules for instance which is vegan, my French certainly wouldn’t be up to argueing that! The chicken ones aren’t. Lots of cereals are. Proactiv buttery cholesterol lowering spread is vegan but most spreads aren’t, would they let that through?

Your situation is very unusual , I’m not sure any of us have a definitive answer. I think nearer the time it will be down to others experiences and your attitude to risk. A really tough one.

 

[DDJC]

I assumed it was your sons rather than a distant relatives’ but I’m sure the other posters don’t realise what a problem it can be for children /adolescents with autism. I dont think there’s any sort of medical certificate that would help in these sorts of situations either.

There have been quite a few threads where people have said they’ve gone through without being checked at all but you are are of course breaking the law. I suppose you have to balance how your conscience would feel and do your own risk benefit analysis.

I’m not sure how strict they would be about something like Bisto gravy granules for instance which is vegan, my French certainly wouldn’t be up to argueing that! The chicken ones aren’t. Lots of cereals are. Proactiv buttery cholesterol lowering spread is vegan but most spreads aren’t, would they let that through?

Your situation is very unusual , I’m not sure any of us have a definitive answer. I think nearer the time it will be down to others experiences and your attitude to risk. A really tough one.

Thanks Carolyn, of course it was my boys
Silly bureaucracy means infinitesimally less to me, than what I consider the moral and conscionable thing to do regarding feeding my lads and managing their welfare.

Frankly, for me, its worth a risk and a fine if caught. I shall plead ignorance. Let he/she who judges me, walk a mile in my shoes!

 

[carolyn]

Thanks Carolyn, of course it was my boys
Silly bureaucracy means infinitesimally less to me, than what I consider the moral and conscionable thing to do regarding feeding my lads and managing their welfare.

Frankly, for me, its worth a risk and a fine if caught. I shall plead ignorance. Let he/she who judges me, walk a mile in my shoes!

I don’t blame you at all. I’m a real goody two shoes but when it comes to my children I’d be exactly the same. It’s not as though you’re endangering lives by breaking this particular law, that would be a bit different!

Mind you I’d probably still stick to stuff like cereal and marguerita pizza that could more easily be misconstrued than a load of pork chops!