Ban on bringing dairy and meat products from Europe
Comments
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@Muffinn There is a thread about this here
The main concern is that any food products coming into the country which could theoretically be infected with Foot and Mouth could get into to the animal food chain and cause an outbreak of Foot and Mouth which would be a disastrous to the farming community. I appreciate the risk is probably very small but we can't be too careful.
David
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But considering I can buy French and Dutch cheese, Greek yogurt, Danish butter and Italian salami in UK supermarkets today it seems a daft restriction.
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I totally agree Muffinn and Eurotraveller. Is it because the commercial imports of some products such as those that are processed/been through a food factory mean they are safe. On mass they can therefore be let through as they can prove origin and safety, but a slab of cheese or an artisan meat product in your fridge does not have this proof.
Colin
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Rules like this are inevitably using a sledge hammer to crack a nut but they are a catch all. However small the risk is, it worth taking? Commercially produced goods imported from the EU will have gone through lots of checks. What you can't account for are the artisan products sold locally in the EU that don't have those same checks. On the plus side most good supermarkets in this Country usually have a range of such things as pate available.
David
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One of the joys of our annual trip to France in our motorhome is never having to worry about eking out the food in the fridge and returning with French cheeses for friends. I really can't see the problem of sealed packs from supermarkets for example. It's all a bit arbitrary when for a month I'll be spending all my time in rural, farming areas often parking on farm fields at outdoor events. So how about banning all traffic…another arbitrary sledgehammer to crack this nut. What I really loathe is legislation that is imposed without discussion and without a clear and acceptable rational.
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"a clear and acceptable rational", acceptable to whom? Decisions such as these are not taken lightly. If you live amongst our livestock farmers, foot and mouth can have devastating consequences. I well remember the mass killing of livestock particularly sheep and cows, the huge piles of burning carcasses with accompanying stench filling the air for days on end during the last breakout. No, foot and mouth is a terrible thing, checks and restrictions on bringing foodstuffs over our borders is a small price to pay to keep UK livestock safe. Enjoy your holidays safely.
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If there is such a ban it is not being inforced I came back today and yes checks and searches were a bit more rigorous than experienced in previous years but there was no mention of meat or dairy products, fridge was not checked, it was empty anyway appart from some water and other drinks. All they seemed bothered about was stowaways. Appart from passport checks and the usual questions of where have you been, there were two sets of checks both by French police. The first I think was for explosives, a magic wand was used and the second a search of the van and lockers for stowaways.
peedee
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@peedee Did you travel back via LeShuttle or a ferry ? We travelled back via the tunnel on Sunday 27th and didn't even get asked where we had been for the past 12 weeks. Apart from checking/stamping our passports, the only check we had was to ensure our gas was turned off.
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Came on a morning Le Shuttle yesterday 29th even the gas check was a little more thorough than we normally see. They actually checked for loose connections to the bottles plus of course checking it was turned off at the bottles. I wonder if the level of checks depend on how busy they are? It did not appear very busy when we boarded.
peedee
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In all the times I have been on the Continent and when coming back I cannot recall ever not being asked where have I been. I remain convinced these days they know exactly where you have been from all the checking of passports or IDs when you checkin to stay. Exceptions might be when you only stay on Aires and some French sites seem a bit lax on checking IDs and entering the details into their computers.
peedee
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No, it’s not to do with Brexit. This is about keeping the devastating disease of Foot & Mouth out of the UK. I’m puzzled why so many people are complaining about common sense measures being taken to protect UK livestock.
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Some people have short memories, and an over developed sense of entitlement around their own little lives. I am sure I have the fortitude and endurance to cope without a few specialist foodstuffs, or even the common sense to consume all that I would buy overseas before returning to UK.
F&M was devastating to Farmers, Smallholders, etc… and impacted the wider community, with footpath closures for months. No one with any common sense would want to risk anything similar again.
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It’s worth looking on line for causes of foot and mouth disease in farm livestock. It’s nothing to do with a caravanner bringing a piece of Gouda cheese home at the end of their hols. The restriction is as daft as I said earlier.
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It doesn’t really matter what you, or any of us think as it’s illegal.
Information for travellers entering GB
From Saturday 12 April, it will be illegal for travellers from all EU countries entering Great Britain to bring items like sandwiches, cheese, cured meats, raw meats or milk into the country. This is regardless of whether it is packed or packaged or whether it has been bought at duty free.
Detailed information is available for the public which sets out a limited set of exemptions from these rules. For example, a limited amount of infant milk, medical foods and certain composite products like chocolate, confectionery, bread, cakes, biscuits and pasta continue to be allowed.
Those found with these items will need to either surrender them at the border or will have them seized and destroyed. In serious cases, those found with these items run the risk of incurring fines of up to £5,000 in England.
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