Are travellers to France having to declare/being searched for “banned” foodstuffs?

[Richard_Y]

On 11/08/2021 at 10:11, Gordon said:

Surely a reason for 'going abroad' - apart from sunshine - is to experience how others live, to experience 'their' culture, and to enjoy 'their' foodstuffs. While we have taken a range of foods with us in the past, that include food only available in Britain, once we are in another country, we buy locally - usually in the local markets rather than the supermarket chains, and so having certain foods banned from import to the EU is absolutely no issue at all for me, even though I have a medically restricted diet imposed on me.

I have no plans to leave the shores of Britain in the immediate future but when I do it will be as it always has been, "their country - their rules", regardless of whether I am visiting the EU or traveling further afield. 

+1. Yes, I'll agree with all this.

[MGBGTV8]

17 minutes ago, Ern said:

What alcahol restrictions apply in each direction?

from UK gov website for into uk

ExampleIf you bring in:

200 cigarettes and 50 cigars, you must pay tax and duty on both the cigarettes and the cigars because you have gone over your allowance in the tobacco category

19 litres of wine, you must pay tax and duty on all of it because you have gone over your 18 litre allowance for wine

You cannot combine allowances with other people to bring in more than your individual allowances.

If you go over your allowances you must declare your goods online before you travel or at the border when you arrive. Your goods could be seized if you do not declare them.

Alcohol allowance

How much you can bring depends on the type of alcohol. You can bring in:

beer - 42 litres

wine (not sparkling) - 18 litres

You can also bring in either:

spirits and other liquors over 22% alcohol - 4 litres

fortified wine (for example port, sherry), sparkling wine and alcoholic drinks up to 22% alcohol - 9 litres

You can split this last allowance, for example you could bring 4.5 litres of fortified wine and 2 litres of spirits (both half of your allowance).

You may have to pay import VAT, customs duty and excise duty on alcohol you declare.

Tobacco allowance

You can bring in one from the following:

200 cigarettes

100 cigarillos

50 cigars

250g tobacco

 

Who in their right mind takes wine to the EU?

 

[Subaru and caravan]

My experience, living in France, is that the Aldi and the Lidl are far and far cheaper than the Carrefour and the other large supermarkets. The difference is easily 30%. As for a lb. tin of tomatoes, that costs about 45 cents, = 40 pence. Perhaps the middle of Paris is more expensive? Baked beans and corned beef are a standard and available there too. You can find  curry paste and curry powder, but usually only when there are special weeks for English or Asian products.
What makes shopping on holidays difficult is that you don’t know the supermarket or where to find things in which aisles. Every store has its own logics.

[Mr Plodd]

I believe it’s only dairy and meat products, milk, cheese, yogurt, bacon, sausages, pork chops, mince, chicken breasts  etc that you cannot “import”. Cooking sauces, breakfast cereals, tea bags (and Marmite etc) are OK.  Not sure about cans Corned Beef?? Anyone know for sure?? 

 

I am more than happy to be corrected if I have got anything wrong though 

 

I am particularly interested as we are off the France at the end if the month and, knowing my luck, if I have (unwittingly of course) any “contraband” mine is certain to be the caravan that will be searched! 

[Ern]

1 hour ago, MGBGTV8 said:

from UK gov website for into uk

ExampleIf you bring in:

200 cigarettes and 50 cigars, you must pay tax and duty on both the cigarettes and the cigars because you have gone over your allowance in the tobacco category

19 litres of wine, you must pay tax and duty on all of it because you have gone over your 18 litre allowance for wine

You cannot combine allowances with other people to bring in more than your individual allowances.

If you go over your allowances you must declare your goods online before you travel or at the border when you arrive. Your goods could be seized if you do not declare them.

Alcohol allowance

How much you can bring depends on the type of alcohol. You can bring in:

beer - 42 litres

wine (not sparkling) - 18 litres

You can also bring in either:

spirits and other liquors over 22% alcohol - 4 litres

fortified wine (for example port, sherry), sparkling wine and alcoholic drinks up to 22% alcohol - 9 litres

You can split this last allowance, for example you could bring 4.5 litres of fortified wine and 2 litres of spirits (both half of your allowance).

You may have to pay import VAT, customs duty and excise duty on alcohol you declare.

Tobacco allowance

You can bring in one from the following:

200 cigarettes

100 cigarillos

50 cigars

250g tobacco

 

Who in their right mind takes wine to the EU?

 

Thanks for the information. I didn't think it had changed. I don't really understand what the problem is for you coming to UK for a month though. Would you really want to bring a month's alcohol with you, when you can buy it here? We have never taken much with us to France as it's a pain to carry, and we like to try the French products. The cost doesn't matter when you consider the scale of things. We chose what country to go to and accept it warts and all. I am happy to pay local taxes as required.

[MGBGTV8]

17 minutes ago, Ern said:

Thanks for the information. I didn't think it had changed. I don't really understand what the problem is for you coming to UK for a month though. Would you really want to bring a month's alcohol with you, when you can buy it here? We have never taken much with us to France as it's a pain to carry, and we like to try the French products. The cost doesn't matter when you consider the scale of things. We chose what country to go to and accept it warts and all. I am happy to pay local taxes as required.

I am paying 9.25euro for 5 litres of red wine how much would be in the UK

 

[Ern]

10 minutes ago, MGBGTV8 said:

I am paying 9.25euro for 5 litres of red wine how much would be in the UK

 

Is it sold in UK? I doubt it. That will be the stuff you have to drink quickly to avoid the bottom of the plastic container rotting away.  We have the same sort of stuff here called Scrumpy, at a similar price.   

[meadowsweet]

We normally take a couple of cooked meals e.g. curry, meatball dish to eat on the two night stopovers en route.  We can heat them up in the microwave with some microwaveable rice.

 

I suppose a cooked and prepared curry is also banned?

[KnausCol]

We normally do the same with a frozen pre-cooked Spag Bol and Chilli. My interpretation is that these are meat products and would be banned - though what threat they contain is debatable unless you want to question my culinary expertise .

[Ern]

1 hour ago, meadowsweet said:

We normally take a couple of cooked meals e.g. curry, meatball dish to eat on the two night stopovers en route.  We can heat them up in the microwave with some microwaveable rice.

 

I suppose a cooked and prepared curry is also banned?

A vegetable curry, vegetable soup, and many other vegetable dishes can be a real treat if hot food is essential. Pasta with a vegan sauce is also nice. Tesco has an article on its website with vegan recipes. We like porridge in the morning, and it's OK made with soya milk. Avacado salad, bruschetta with tomato and basil are good for lunch. Even a victoria sponge cake can be made vegan.  I think a little imagination may yield some pleasant surprises. 

[iansoady]

On 12/08/2021 at 20:46, Ern said:

Is it sold in UK? I doubt it. That will be the stuff you have to drink quickly to avoid the bottom of the plastic container rotting away.  We have the same sort of stuff here called Scrumpy, at a similar price.   

You can get some lovely wine in France for that sort of price from local markets. We had a mini-barrel of delicious red from the market in Beaulieu sur Dordogne for just a few euros.

[Mr Plodd]

5 hours ago, iansoady said:

You can get some lovely wine in France for that sort of price from local markets. We had a mini-barrel of delicious red from the market in Beaulieu sur Dordogne for just a few euros.

 

There are many very small wine producers in France and, because of the scale of production, their produce never finds its way across the channel. We have discovered a fair few over the years that produce really excellent wines at what, for we Brits, is a give away price! 

 

Cafes and restaurants often supply good “house” wines from, and in order to support, their local wine producers. 

[Talking Flag]

You could probably take some of the cheaper sausages that are available in the cheaper supermarkets in the UK if only on the basis that there's no meat in them.

[Mr Plodd]

10 minutes ago, Talking Flag said:

You could probably take some of the cheaper sausages that are available in the cheaper supermarkets in the UK if only on the basis that there's no meat in them.

 

Ohh there is!

 

Just don’t ask where exactly on the animal it’s come from.

 

Look up “mechanically recovered meat” and you will see where some, but not all, of it comes from. The colour is a good indicator, the pinker the sausage the more ???  Is in them.

 

Mrs P has an expression that covers it exactly, but I don’t want to get permanently banned from the forum 

[iansoady]

The good old British sausage.

 

 

[TriumphT100]

Plymouth to Roscoff on Friday 13th .

Not many caravans, just 3 I think!!!!  Mainly cars plus a few motorhomes .

Plymouth passport control very smooth checked vaccination paperwork no difference in time taken.

Plymouth side security check, usual security questions none about food stuffs, usual check underneath caravan, inside caravan ,washroom and overhead lockers but not in fridge.

Onboard ferry very quite (lovely)masks worn everywhere apart from when in bar or restaurant.

Roscoff passport control slightly longer I’d say but not much, checked  passports and stamped them ,checked all vaccination paperwork, asked was visit for holiday. Didn’t want to see sworn declaration! Overall no drama.  Hardly saw a UK vehicle on way down, just 1 I think!

31degC yesterday Vandee ??

 

[Mr Plodd]

That’s good to know thanks. I’m doing Portsmouth to Caen on 30th. 

 

Cant wait! 

[meadowsweet]

12 hours ago, Mr Plodd said:

That’s good to know thanks. I’m doing Portsmouth to Caen on 30th. 

 

Cant wait! 

 

Me too, 1st September - 6th October.  Its been very pleasant looking at stopover campsite websites.  Such gorgeous settings, lovely facilities and all for 16 euro a night (ASCI).

[TriumphT100]

Mainly Dutch and French here very few Brits I suppose the quarantine rule change came too late for most . Just fab to be away feels very special. Mr P and MS have a great holiday.

Edited August 16, 2021 by cb300

[Mr Plodd]

I have been in close contact with where we will be staying early next month. They have been asking all sorts of questions about the U.K. Covid certificates and how it works so clearly they haven’t seen a single Brit as yet!

 

You are required to have a QR code that can be read by the French “Tousanticovid” app. You can download your Covid certificate via the NHS app (Thats a different app to the NHS Track and Trace app)

 

The Certificate  shows the details of your vaccination record and has two barcodes at the top of the page. The QR on the Left hand side can be read by the app the French use. I have tried it several times both for me and Mrs P so as long as you have that paper certificate you will be fine in France. But the bar code is only valid for 30 days, so be sure the one you have is valid for all of your stay (or be able to print off another one) 

 

That barcode is also available via the same NHS app as above on your smartphone, but you need to be able to access the records whilst away so the ability to roam is vital. 

[stevew1]

On 09/08/2021 at 10:45, Biscuit1946 said:

When we travelled back from Newhaven to Dieppe we were asked if we had any meat or dairy products with us , the customs then did a usual search, what i did notice were boxes and boxes of confiscated stuff all along the customs shed , the solution is abide by the rules. 

 

Hope they donated it to the local food banks so it didn’t go to waste .

[Mr Plodd]

I forgot to say that when you access your Covid passport on the NHS app the first QR code that comes up  is for your first injection. If you scan that code it comes up as invalid, You need to swipe R to L to see the second QR code and that’s the one you need to be scanned to show you are fully vaccinated when in France etc.  . 

[TriumphT100]

We’ve got both NHS and French app but not been asked for them yet . We’ve only shown paperwork (NHS letters showing vaccination and the location forms ) 

[Mr Plodd]

If by “NHS letters” you mean the form that shows both vaccination details, and has two QR codes at the top, then that is one of the  acceptable means of proof defined by the French Govt.

The NHS app which enables you to access the same form digitally is the other acceptable means of proof.

The French Tous anti Covid (TAC) app is merely the means of verifying the bar codes present on either of the above.  

 

French campsites, restaurants etc are supposed to scan that barcode to ensure you have been double vaccinated before you are permitted to enter. 

It may well be that many don’t bother to actually scan the barcode and are happy to accept what they see at face value.All the barcode does is show a name and date of birth to confirm the certificates authenticity. 

 

We will be taking several copies of the paper certificate along with our phones. 

 

Have you made any enquiries about the ease, or otherwise, of availability of the lateral flow tests that are required 3 days prior to leaving France and returning to the UK? I understand they are done at pharmacies (at a cost of about 30 euro) and the pharmacy issues a certificate to prove you have supplied a negative test. It’s a requirement to produce this proof prior to boarding a plane of ferry.Do most pharmacies do them? Or is it just a few in the larger towns etc?  

 

Of course that’s the current requirement, it could change at any time. 

[Biscuit1946]

19 hours ago, stevew1 said:

Hope they donated it to the local food banks so it didn’t go to waste .

I hope so too