Taking food into the EU-silly question?!

[howshouldibehave]

We are flying at a funny time night/over breakfast) and I thought about putting a pack of pain au chocolates in my bag to appease the kids as soon as we get there rather than buy a big breakfast for all of us. I know you’re not supposed to bring dairy, but do very small bits of chocolate count?! Is it better in hold or hand luggage?

I doubt you'll be stopped with that

Commercially produced foodstuffs like pain au chocolat is fine. It would be viewed as a bread product. I would carry it as hand luggage as it’s easier to access and less likely to get squashed.

The issue is fresh food like dairy and meat. Bread and chocolate are not a problem. I am not sure about fresh fruit and veg.

Brilliant-so I can take that in my cabin bag?!

Yes. Have done so myself.

Sorry-another question, can you take a box of unopened breakfast cereal-like muesli-in hold luggage? That probably counts as plant produce which isn’t allowed, but it’s all pre packed and commercially produced?!

It's meat and dairy that is strictly controlled

so If if chocolate is ok, does that mean I can bring something like a ham sandwich ? Or what about cheese in a sandwich ?
I’ve always been confused about their rules

I've always taken through food, sandwiches for example and it's never been questioned.

I've taken these things and more, never been stopped, basically if it's something you bought in a supermarket it's fine.

Trip Advisor seems full of people suggesting you will be searched and fined if you have so much as a curly Wurly in your hold luggage!

The rules are clear on random things, like how much shellfish or frogs legs (back legs only!) you can bring into the EU but don’t seem to mention things most people might actually want to pack. When it says no plants or plant products, that could mean anything! I presume they don’t want meat, milk/cheese, vegetables, plant cuttings or seeds in case you cross contaminate but things like commercially bought breakfast cereals, packets of rice are ok!?

Commercially produced breakfast cereal should be ok as well but carry this in your hold luggage.

Anything like fruit, fish, meat and dairy though is strictly controlled so you cannot bring in fruit or ham/cheese sandwiches.

If you buy a meal deal at boots in teh airport you've already by passed security so ham sandwiches etc are ok

I would avoid anything fresh, so sandwiches regardless where bought, dairy like milk, yoghurt, cheese and any fresh fruit and vegetables. The border control doesn't know if you bought your meal deal after security or before.

Dried food like cereals, chocolate, bread should normally be fine.

We travel to the EU on a regular basis and so far never were asked but I know that the controls at the ferries are more thorough now.

Security has nothing to do with the rules about taking meat and dairy into the EU. It's about bringing potential contaminated food into it and security can't check if the ham slice is a problem or not.

The irony being that the ham in a Boots meal deal sandwich is much more likely to be from the EU than be British!

I’ve taken sandwiches and fruit through security both here and in the EU recently. All fine. Salmon baguette, cheese sandwiches, apples/bananas/grapes. Yum.

Much of the information on this thread is wrong. There’s a big difference between what you’ve got away with and what you should have been doing.

this thread has confused me even more

Ham sandwiches carried and discarded by lorry drivers are actually one of the main ways African swine fever has been spreading into/across the EU so there are extremely good reasons to control them. Granted this particular virus has been mostly east to west, but the next one might not be.

Leaving one country with something which might be prohibited entering another are different issues. You can buy a sandwich containing meat at a UK airport and as long as you either eat or discard before you enter customs in the EU it's fine.