Are cheeses and hams allowed in carry-on luggage?

Does anybody here have an idea or has had experience with bringing cheeses, hams, etc. from the EU to the Philippines?

Is it allowed in carry-on or checked luggage? If so, is there a limit as to how much you can bring(aside from the baggage weight limit of course)? Also, which would be preferable, carry-on or checked?

I´m going home to Dumaguete from Spain via Singapore next month and am planning to bring assorted quesos, chorizos, jamon´s, etc.. Any help on the topic would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

 

Any food and drinks are allowed in checked luggage in reasonable quantity.
In hand luggage "hard" food is allowed (no cheese spread for instance)
Import of food is not allowed in many country's (US for sure) so check with Filippino Customs.

 

Thanks firefly. What amount is reasonable though? Just out of curiousity, what category would Brie, Camembert, Goat´s Cheese, etc. fall under? They´re certainly not spreads but aren´t hard as well.

 

My Cans of Rosarita Refrieds were confiscated at the airport in Cebu. They said refried beans could be used as a weapon,
I said, "not if I haven eaten em' yet."

They looked at me kinda confused and said, "no, the cans could be used to hit somebody"

I said, "oh".

(somebody might get that one)

 

Some foods ARE allowed through U.S. Customs, but you have to know which ones.

 

Check with the airline that you are going to fly with before you buy the stuff. You're better off putting things like cheese in to your checked baggage anyway as it is going to travel in a very cold cargo bay. I flew back from London to Manila earlier this year and brought 1/2 kilo of Stilton and 1/2 kilo of Wensleydale cheese. The airline said it was ok as long as it was in sealed packaging and not just wrapped, and was in checked baggage going in to the hold. As it was a Middle Eastern airline, I didn't mention the 1 kilo of Walls pork sausages !!!

Airport security seem to be quite arbitrary when scanning carry-on baggage and seem to make the rules up as they go along. Anything that they take a fancy to can suddenly be declared a prohibited item. There is a neat scam that operates at T4 and T5 at London Heathrow (often referred to a Thief-row). Any item over 100ml in your carry-on baggage, like deodorant, mouthwash, toothpaste etc. is confiscated. They know that if you protest or argue with them, they can ask for you to be held there and consequently you miss your flight. Confiscated items are supposed to be destroyed, but I know for sure that any item that is new and unused will miraculously re-appear, and I have seen this stuff offered for sale at car boot sales and pub car parks around Hounslow, Staines and Slough. Whilst they have the right to prevent you taking those items on board, I don't know what the legal position is in destroying what is your property. They could hold it and let you reclaim it on your return. Perhaps someone with a legal mind might challenge them one day. The stupidity of this practice at Heathrow, is that once you pass through security and even if they have confiscated some of your items, you can then go straight to Boots pharmacy in the departure lounge and buy exactly the same items, in the same size or bigger, and take them on to the aircraft. Yep, it's a racket.

 

If there is any possibility for confusion play on safe.
Reasonable is a maximum of 2 bottles of liquid and a variety of food, not 10 kg of the same cheese for instance.
Checked luggage is only going true a scanner before check-inn in the Philippines, so most likely it is not a problem.
For hand luggage common sense prevails.

 

I don't know the legalities, but I have a friend that frequently brings a taped up cooler full of frozen meat, cheese and even a frozen turkey as check in luggage from Canada. He hasn't had any problems, but I think he gives a little money at the counter on this end at the airport.

 

I flew from Malaga (Spain) in June.to Manila, via Amsterdam and Hong Kong the jamon was confiscated. at Malaga. Not sealed and certificated. The cheese was vacuum packed with a recognised seal attached, this was OK. my problem was in Hongkong. I was too tired and in too much of a hurry ( 1 hour transfer) to argue the toss. I donated it to the staff canteen. Manchego is a fairly good cheese so i was happier that some one could enjoy it. ( that's if it got that far of course, I did enquire, if it could have gone checked in? mm not a lot of help here, the only things i did get through, were the Tins of things. Chocolates sardines etc.