Stern warning over food imports

Travellers are to be discouraged from bringing food and drink back into the European Union – with the threat of heavy fines or jail if they persist. According to The Times, travellers bringing in items “such as Chinese sausage, American steak or Ghanaian squid” could face fines as high as GBP5,000. The Government’s Lord Whitty, Food and Farming Minister, is reported as saying that a television advert will broadcast the slogan “if in doubt, leave it out”, following the revelation that illegal meat seizures have doubled in the last 12 months. Last year, some 186 tonnes of illegally-imported food was seized, the newspaper reports. Whitty reportedly urged travellers to check the rules before attempting to bring any food back into European Union countries, adding: “I did not even know that people could break the rules if they bought beef jerky on sale in New York airport.” He added that meat and dairy products were banned, while eggs, fish, honey, shellfish and plants were restricted. Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd