Personal imports: Products of Animal Origin – Personal Imports Guidance
This guidance is to assist with product identification and the table below shows the products and concessions by country. This page was last amended in December 2007, all previous versions should be disregarded.
(51 KB)This guidance applies to personal imports and those in personal luggage, but not to commercial consignments accompanied by appropriate animal health and/or public health certification and presented at a Border Inspection Post (BIP). For information on Commercial requirements please see out international trade pages.
Where a product of animal origin (eg a meat or dairy product) appears to have been produced and packaged by an EU Member State and is being brought into the UK from a third country it is deemed to have been consigned from that third country and cannot be permitted entry unless concessions below apply.
Important concessions for personal imports (luggage and post)
Personal Imports are only permitted to be brought in Passengers’ Luggage or sent to a private, named individual either by post, courier service or private carrier. The attached table details the countries from which this is permitted.
Meat, milk, eggs, egg products, honey, bivalves, fish and fish products are permitted to be brought in personal luggage 
or sent by package 
to a private individual from all EU Member States. This includes Andorra, Norway, San Marino, The Canary and Channel Islands, which for these purposes only are treated like a Member State.
Meat and Milk products are permitted to be brought in personal luggage or sent by package from the following countries providing the amount does not exceed a combined total weight of FIVE kilos per person: the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland.
A limited quantity that does not exceed that which could be reasonably consumed by an individual of powdered infant milk, infant food and special foods required for medical reasons in personal luggage is permitted. Such items must not require refrigeration before opening, and must be proprietary brand products for direct sale to the final consumer in unbroken packaging unless in current use. A reasonable amount for the length of stay and the number of infants involved will be allowed.
One kg of eggs, egg products, honey, frogs’ legs, snailmeat, fishery products (excl caviar) and bivalves, where permitted with a in the table may be brought in for personal use, in a person’s personal luggage or sent to a privately named individual .
Please note that the products in the attached table may be subject to additional restrictions if there is an outbreak of animal disease or other circumstances, which may present a risk to animal or human health.
Definitions
The following are examples only of the items that are subject to controls as defined in the table.
Meat – (raw meat that is fresh or frozen) eg red meat, poultry, game, bush meat (wild meat), reptile, insects, goat, raw sausage meat.
Meat Product - cooked or dried meat eg - pies, ham, biltong (dried meat), pot noodles which contain pieces of meat, meatballs, meat loaf, cured or cooked sausage, pate and meat paste.
Milk and Milk Products - this includes liquid milk, dried milk, concentrated milk, cream, butter, whey, yoghurt, cheese and products containing fresh cream.
Eggs – All types of birds eggs - for personal consumption
Egg Products – Those containing egg eg omelette and dried egg but excluding egg noodles.
Honey – All honey products for personal consumption
Fish & Fishery Products fresh, dried, cooked, cured and smoked fish and crustaceans, including fishery products which have 10% or more fishery products in them, eg prawns, shrimps, canned tuna and fish sauces. Separate Caviar restrictions still apply.
Bivalves – includes bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and marine gastropods in whatever form.
- Bivalve molluscs include oysters (inc oyster sauce), mussels, clams, cockles and scallops
- Tunicates include sea squirts
- Echinoderms include sea urchins and sea cucumbers
- Gastropods include whelks, winkles and abalone
Cakes, biscuits and confectionery for personal use are normally permitted except for items made from unprocessed dairy products such as ghee and some confectionery like mithai. Cakes containing fresh cream from outside the EU are not permitted.
Frogs’ legs –the back (ie hind) part of frogs, with the skin/internal organs removed (if the skin/internal organs are still attached, it is not permitted). May be fresh, chilled, frozen or processed.
Snail meat – Shelled, cooked & prepared/preserved meat of edible land snails, including canned snailmeat, and snail shells re-filled with snail meat. Live snails, dead snails still in their shells and water snails are not permitted.
Helplines
If you require clarification on any products, the following telephone numbers may be used during office hours:
- Meat and Meat Products - Animal Health 01245 358383
- Milk, Milk products - Animal Health 01245 358383
- Egg, Egg Products - Animal Health 01245 358383
- Frogs’ legs/snail meat, honey - Animal Health 01245 358383
- Fish, Fishery & Bivalves - Food Standards Agency 020 7276 8018
- Cakes, biscuits, confectionery - Food Standards Agency 020 7276 8987
Page last
modified:
January 28, 2008