I understand now that personal importation from the UK to Switzerland of meat and animal products such as cheese is now banned even though Switzerland is not in the EU.

However, fish is still allowed. Does anyone know where to find detailed rules on this e.g. do prawns count as banned meat or allowed as 'fish'?

Prawns are fish.

Tom

Have a look at this document from the EU Commision.

Yes, it looks like we could be back to the days when blatant protectionism and covert support of domestic agriculture or industry is dressed up as issues of public health or national security.

Here, incidentally, is a Swiss politician ( Bundesrat Merz ) breaking into uncontrollable laughter, during a speech of his, at the bureaucratic language used to finely differentiate meat products [including Bundnerfleisch] for import control / taxation purposes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBeLCDTPs8o .

Not many politicians, incidentally, have this exemplary objectivity to clearly signal that what they are saying is complete rubbish.

"A Dutch TV network has filmed border officials confiscating ham sandwiches and other foods from drivers arriving in the Netherlands from the UK, under post-Brexit rules.

The officials were shown explaining import regulations imposed since the UK formalised its separation from the EU.

Under EU rules, travellers from outside the bloc are banned from bringing in meat and dairy products.

The rules appeared to bemuse one driver.

"Since Brexit, you are no longer allowed to bring certain foods to Europe, like meat, fruit, vegetables, fish, that kind of stuff," a Dutch border official told the driver in footage broadcast by TV network NPO 1.

In one scene, a border official asked the driver whether several of his tin-foil wrapped sandwiches had meat in them.

When the driver said they did, the border official said: "Okay, so we take them all."

Surprised, the driver then asked the officials if he could keep the bread, to which one replied: "No, everything will be confiscated - welcome to the Brexit, sir. I'm sorry.""

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55622331

How will it be for Grumpys pub, mousetrap in Zurich?


Something on a future wish list, to go to see all the UK Cheeses he used to have on his stall.

https://www.ezv.admin.ch/ezv/de/home...und-tabak.html


1kg of meat per person and day is the import limit into Switzerland. The UK not being in the EU anymore is now of course a risk of importing diseases into the EU, so its banned.


The limits are in place to protect Swiss farmers, so all sort of seafood is excluded. Including prawns and all sort of shellfish.


A second loophole is game meat. Last time I went to CH I simply brought wild boar meat instead of pork...

The new restrictions are for personal imports, commercial trade is not affected too much (but we're noticing confusion with paperwork and supply delays - but that's partly because of Corona.

Actually. Much fuss has been made about bringing animal products into the EU from the UK.

For the opposite movement, bringing animal products from EU/Switzerland into the UK are there also similar restrictions? Hopefully the UK were more pragmatic and we don't have the same restrictions in the other direction.

But this is Danish ham, said the driver...

"Pragmatic" is Boris' middle name...

In fairness (and I'm no supporter of the EU) if you visit the USA, Australia and a good many other countries, you are not allowed to bring in sandwiches or any types of meat or cheese etc. If you do it will be confiscated and you'll get a nice fine. The driver was lucky it was only confiscated.

And the same rules apply to travellers coming into the EU from other non-EU countries, not just the UK. I've no idea though what you can bring in from the UK to Switzerland as a personal import, though I see the Britshop and the British Corner Shop are still selling meat and dairy products for delivery in / to Switzerland.

That's commercial trade. There should be checks/certification on quality and safety but at the moment it's very confusing for my cheese suppliers in the UK about exactly what they should be doing.

Most seafood caught in Scotland was always exported to the EU, seamlessly of course. Now Groupage deliveries (trucks taking pallets from different suppliers) with DFDS to the EU have been halted as the smaller suppliers just have no idea what to do re paperwork etc. Before Brexit seafood caught in Scotland was with customers in France within 24 hours, now it's taking 3 days or more. Project fear? yeah, right.

__________________
Mike

Monger of fine British Cheeses

I think businesses will need to adapt to follow the new rules/requirements.

I think the safety argument is a bit silly as obviously food to/from EU didn't suddenly become more dangerous post-brexit, but this could of course evolve over time and so is an understandable friction.

He could have gulped them down though.

I know someone who did that with an orange at JFK airport, he was politely asked to please come this way for a more extensive search that involved dropping his trousers and bending over.

Did they find the orange? I know they're high in fiber but I don't think they move that fast.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...curity-control

<<The woman, who has been named only as Zhao, was deemed too drunk to fly by staff at Beijing Capital international airport when she collapsed shortly after drinking the bottle of Rémy Martin XO Excellence.>>

Ham sandwiches do not have this effect and in this case it didn't matter where the woman drank as drunk people are generally not allowed on planes.

Although Rules of Origin do apply for commercial Trade, and then things get very complicated. Here, we make excellent Mozzarella from local buffalo herds (can't be called Mozarella due to AOC)- excellent product. But if the product is made in the UK with imported Italian or other foreign buffalo milk- then, tariffs apply. Same with sausages - depends what goes in them or more importanly, where it comes from, where the skins come from, etc.
Same for cars or any manufactured goods.