Talk me down, travelling to France

[Stressybetsy]

I'm driving to France soon for the first time. I have a lot of dietary requirements so have packed a lot of food. No fresh dairy/meat or anything (I assume things that contain dairy like chocolate are fine?)

However on the RAC website it mentions a few more things I haven't previously seen. We are taking packed lunch because it'll be near impossible to find something I can eat en route. This includes a little fruit salad and some cut up veggies. How likely is it customs search our lunch bag? Or unpack my (3!) crates of food. Everything packed (with the exception of some nuts & dried fruit which has been pre-portioned) is sealed/pre-preprepared. It's a nightmare travelling with restrictions, hence why we are driving!

Any talking me down would be much appreciated 🙈

If it’s fresh produce you are taking, fruit and veg, France has a huge and widely available selection of lovely food that will be easy to buy. The supermarkets are unlike anything we have here. Unless you can’t just eat normal supermarket fruit and veg, I wouldn’t be taking it with me. There will be a Carrefour like 10 minutes after you get off the ferry, just stop and buy it and prep in the car or at your lunch stop.

What have you got that you don’t think you can buy in France ?

The French supermarkets are really well stocked with everything you could want. Frankly it’s ridiculous to take so much food with you. Having that much food could raise suspicion and result in you being searched.

As others said, French supermarkets have an amazing amount of produce and there are loads along the highways from the border.
Ive never personally been checked ( have seen other cars get checked tho, it looks like 1/5 or 1/4 sort of chance) but id say it would be an issue if they do spot check you and find your 3 crates of produce…

I think as @midgetasticsays we need to know what sort of things you have which you can’t get in France - also to advise whether customs would have an issue.

I drive to France every year. Our car is always rammed because we’re camping and it’s 50/50 whether they do a cursory check or look in more detail. The most that’s ever happened is everybody out and open the boot/roofbox etc.
What are you taking with you? I’d be surprised if it were anything you couldn’t buy just as good or better when you arrive.

It's not fresh produce, it's things like meal kits, rice pouches, marinades, snacks. I have allergies and it's extremely difficult reading labels here, let alone in French. I have of course don't lots of research into products available there, and unfortunately lots of the equivalents contain allergens I can't have. For example it's the level where I can have some black pepper here, but not all. So hopefully you understand why I'm taking safe bits and bobs, so I can just buy fresh (allergen-free!) produce there.

Can I just check? You are taking most of the dried holiday food with you, and the remainder will be purchased there (fruit/veg/dairy/meat?).

That sounds fine to me. I don’t think you’ll be stopped at all. But just explain if you are.

You are okay with packets. French supermarkets are full of fresh food.

Yes exactly. It's all packaged ingredient type stuff, alternative milks, treat snacks.

The only fresh stuff would be our packed lunch for that day (with no meat or dairy).

Thank you, yes I'm sure there's lots of lovely fresh bits.

My niece has severe allergies - carries an epipen and been hospitalised several times. She lives in France now and finds food there much more accessible as there is a much larger availability of unprocessed produce. Honestly, you’ll be fine!

If you search out the Biocoop chain of shops you will find someone who can help. I would write a list of your allergies and dietary needs in English, put it through translation software and print it out.
My granddaughter has lots of allergies and the staff in our local Biocoop are always very helpful.
In the bigger supermarkets you will find an area dedicated to organic (bio) and gluten free etc.

Dried packet stuff is almost certainly ok- it just shouldn’t contain dairy or meat. But then eurotunnel flexi actually gives you free fresh foods before boarding with the clear intention of you taking it away (limited seating and they give you paper bags to carry it) and no one is sweeping the train before you drive off to make sure you've finished your yoghurt. So I don’t think it’s strictly enforced. We do the journey 3-4 times a year and I’ve been asked to stop a few times and my steering wheel swabbed but I assume that’s to check for drugs or explosives, not contraband dairy milk. I wouldn’t worry about it. And French supermarkets have amazing fresh produce so you’ll be well fed even with allergies!

French people have allergies too. And there are two huge Carrefours within minutes of Calais ferry port. You can get an app that converts text into English just by scanning your phone over.
They have aisles of gf/allergen products.

This is a lot of panicking for going to a country with supermarkets just like ours.

I survived being a vegan in France 20 years ago, back when pretty much nobody was vegan, for example.

Apart from a conversation in McDonalds in Paris that raised eyebrows (Un McRoyale sans beouf, sans fromage une petite frites, sil vous plait - to which I got a reply, in English, of 'You just want the BREAD?' - the whole staff stood and watched me make a chip butty 😂 ), it was absolutely fine.

I found France great for gluten free produce. Same with Italy. Everywhere does LF too.

I think you might be surprised, OP.

I hope I am. I'm not trying to say they won't have anything, but taking some things reducing the stress levels greatly and reading labels is time consuming and can be difficult. We are also not just staying in France and some of the other areas are less well-stocked. I found one restaurant in the area that can cater safely for gluten free and I've been told by my colleague who is from that country and has intolerances that he struggles when he goes home (to a much larger city than I'm going to).

GF defo catered for in supermarches - make sure you have a look for things to bring home as some is nicer than ours.

Italy is fantastic for GF. Commonly catered for in restaurants etc and the snacks are so much better than here.

When I was GF (not any more as in remission wit the AI disease that caused the intolerance) I used to order GF pasta, flour and snacks from an Italian market online. Just way superior to what we have here, although it is getting better.

Good luck, OP! I hope you have a fantastic, safe trip.x.

DS has allergies - he just uses an app on his phone which translates the ingredients into any languages. We use it in France loads.

We've never been searched coming into France at all. It's usually going into the UK.

Thank you for your kind post ❤️ I've heard Italy and Spain are fantastic. X

I've got the app ready to go for anything fresh. That's good, hopefully it'll all be eaten by the time we get back 😂

If it helps, gluten in French is gluten!

You do know that you can buy fruit and veg in France, OP? If you insist on making things so difficult for yourself, wouldn't it be easier to holiday at home?

I regularly drive to France via le shuttle and have never had my car searched. I think you’ll be fine, but you can buy at lot of things in France!

What is the point of this post? I'm not proposing taking an entire fruit and veg aisle, I'm just querying it as it's new. I'm talking about an apple, a banana and some carrot sticks! I've not driving abroad before, so I didn't know if this was an actual thing or just a weird RAC thing as previously I'd just read meat and dairy. Obviously if it is a real thing, I'll just not take it.

I am not making things difficult for myself, I'm dealing with a disability. You have no idea.