Foods
Bringing foods from travels and ordering foods online are subject to almost the same restrictions.
Arriving from an EU country? Look it up here.
Bringing foods from the EU
When you arrive in Finland from another EU country, you can bring foods almost without any restrictions.
Pork and wild boar meat are exceptions
There are regions in the EU from where you can bring pork and wild boar meat to Finland only in very limited quantities, as there is African swine fever in those regions.
For example, the Baltic countries are among the regions under restrictions.
The disease situation of African swine fever may change rapidly. If you are going to bring pork or wild boar meat or meat products to Finland, always check the restrictions and the current situation on the Food Authority website. The Finnish Food Authority recommends that products containing pork or wild boar meat should not be imported at all from EU Member States in which African swine fever has been confirmed.
Bringing foods from outside the EU
Fruits, vegetables and other plant products
You can’t bring in fresh plants or plant products to Finland from outside the EU territory without a phytosanitary certificate. A phytosanitary certificate is required for almost all fresh fruits, berries, vegetables and root vegetables.
Usually, a private person can’t get a phytosanitary certificate, in practice this means that you can’t bring in fresh fruits, berries and vegetables from outside the EU to Finland - not even an apple or orange.
A certificate is not required for bananas, dates, durian, pineapples or coconuts. You can bring in frozen, dried and preserved products, as well as coffee and dried tea without a phytosanitary certificate. Read more about coffee and tea later on this page.
- What products can be imported without a phytosanitary certificate? Read more on the Food Authority website.
- The same restrictions apply to plants and plant seeds.
There are restrictions on the import of certain foodstuffs of plant origin due to widespread non-compliance in these products.
The restrictions apply to imports from certain countries only, such as China, India and Turkey. There are no restrictions on imports from other countries.
Restricted products are for example
- many nuts and products made from nuts
- several of spices
- palm oil
- tea.
You can bring restricted products back with you when travelling, order them online or receive them as a gift for personal use, up to a maximum of 2 kilograms.
If you intend to bring these products from outside the EU, always check the up-to-date list of restricted countries and restricted goods in Annexes 1 and 2 of the EU Regulation. Also see the list of goods that are completely prohibited in Annex 2a.
If you wish to import more than 2 kilograms of restricted goods, please take a look at the requirements for intensified import control.
Restrictions apply to the import of wild mushrooms and certain wild berries (blueberry, lingonberry, cranberry, bog bilberry), as well as products containing them, when imported into Finland from Russia, Ukraine or certain other non-EU countries. Wild mushrooms and berries may contain radioactivity caused by the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
Check the up-to-date list of restricted countries and goods in Annex 2 of the EU Regulation.
From restricted countries, you can bring for personal use
- fresh wild mushrooms no more than 10 kilograms
- dried wild mushrooms no more than 2 kilograms
- dried blueberries, lingonberries, cranberries and bog bilberries no more than 2 kilograms.
Please note that no fresh berries can be brought into the country from outside the EU without a phytosanitary certificate. Read more about the phytosanitary certificate on this page in the section “Fruits, vegetables and other plant products”.
Switzerland is an exception; you may bring up to 10 kilograms of fresh berries and up to 2 kilograms of dried berries from there, as Switzerland follows the same plant health legislation as EU countries.
Fresh mushrooms do not require a phytosanitary certificate.
Products of animal origin
Imports of products of animal origin from outside the EU are restricted, as they pose a risk of spreading animal diseases.
Meat, fish and milk
When you arrive in Finland from outside the EU, you are not allowed to bring in any of the following:
- meat
- meat products
- milk
- milk products.
Travellers can bring at most 2 kilograms of infant formula meant for personal use. Infant formula cannot however be ordered on the Internet.
You can also bring in chocolate as a gift even if it contains milk.
You are allowed to bring in 20 kg of fishery products or one gutted fish regardless of its weight.
Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Andorra, Liechtenstein and San Marino are exceptions as concerns imports of products of animal origin. From these countries you can bring meat, meat products, milk and milk products regardless of their non-EU status.
- The quantity of products that can be imported from these countries is not restricted when
- the value of the products does not exceed the value limits for gift imports and
- the quantity can be deemed reasonable for personal consumption.
The weight limit for fish products does not concern these countries.
Do bear in mind that the country of departure, for example Norway, may have placed restrictions on exports of fishery products. Check with the customs authority of the departure country to find out if export restrictions apply.
Other animal-derived foods
You can import other products such as honey, eggs, snails and frogs’ legs in quantities not exceeding 2 kilograms.
More information on importing or ordering caviar can be found on this page in the section Caviar from non-EU countries.
Animal food
Animal-derived foods meant for pets cannot be imported from outside the EU. For example, you cannot import cat food or dog food that contains meat, chicken or fish.
If you are travelling with a pet, you can however bring with you the food that your pet needs for health reasons.
Unrestricted foods
You can bring to Finland
- candy and chocolate
- biscuits, cakes and other bakery products that are not mixed or filled with meat products.
When you arrive in Finland from outside the EU, note the value limits for imports. You can import gifts and passenger items without paying tax and customs duty
- for a value of 430 euros when you arrive by air or sea
- for a value of 300 euros when you arrive by other means.
Foods are also included in the value limit.
Read more about the value limit for tax exemption concerning passenger import items.
Frequently asked questions
You can import coffee and dried tea to Finland, and order them to Finland. Tea and coffee can be imported both from inside and outside the EU.
However, you should note that the import of tea may be subject to restrictions. For example, you can only bring up to 2 kilograms of tea from China. Read more earlier on this page in the section ”Nuts, spices, palm oil and other similar products”.
Fresh tea leaves
You can import fresh and unprocessed tea leaves from outside the EU only when you have a phytosanitary certificate for them. Since it is almost impossible for a private person to get a phytosanitary certificate, it means that in practice fresh tea leaves cannot be brought to Finland.
Authentic caviar is made from the roe of sturgeon (Acipenseriformes spp.). Bringing in caviar from non-EU countries usually requires a permit because caviar is covered by CITES Convention (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). What permits you need depends on how you are going to bring in caviar.
If you order caviar or receive it as a gift, you will need two CITES permits: A CITES export permit from the country from which the caviar is dispatched and a CITES import permit from the Finnish Environment Institute. The permits must be applied for in advance, and they must both be valid when the consignment arrives in Finland. Both CITES permits must be presented to Customs when the consignment arrives in Finland. Furthermore, the packages must have labels as prescribed in the CITES Convention.
If you bring in caviar in your luggage only for personal use, you can bring in no more than 125 grams of caviar without a CITES permit. Caviar packages must have labels as prescribed in the CITES Convention. If you bring in more than 125 grams, you will need a CITES export permit from the country of departure.
You can bring in a total of 20 kilograms of roe other than caviar, fresh or processed, from non-EU countries to Finland. You can bring in the roe by ordering it, as a gift or in your luggage.
For the time being, importing caviar from Russia is not allowed due to sanctions imposed by the EU against Russia.
Read more
Ordering food on the Internet is subject to almost the same rules as importing food from travels. You can order food on the Internet in the quantities given on this page.
The only exceptions are infant formula and foods meant for pets for health reasons. They can be imported from travels, but not ordered online.
You should find out about any restrictions from the authorities of your country of destination. Restrictions may vary in different countries. Finnish Customs does not provide information about the provisions of other countries.
You cannot bring in fresh fruits and vegetables from Norway or the Canary Islands.
Norway is not an EU country. In addition to the EU countries, the only countries that you can bring in fresh fruits and vegetables from without a phytosanitary certificate are Switzerland and Liechtenstein, in which similar legislation applies.
In terms of plant health legislation, the Canary Islands comprise a region outside the EU. When plants or plant products are imported from the Canary Islands, requirements concerning non-EU countries apply. Therefore, you cannot import fruits or vegetables from the Canary Islands without a phytosanitary certificate
On border crossing points, Customs oversees what items travellers bring to Finland. You can hand in any prohibited food items to customs officers at the airport. In the border crossing points on the eastern border, there are waste bins where you can discard prohibited food items.
No penalties result from voluntary handing over of items. Repeated or serious violation of an import prohibition is punishable.
Read more
The concise instructions on this page are meant to answer only the most frequently asked questions. Always check the Food Authority website for detailed instructions.
- Travelling from outside the EU to Finland (Food Authority)
- Entering Finland from an EU country (Food Authority)
- For travellers about African swine fever (Food Authority)
- Importing plants and fresh plant products as personal luggage (Food Authority)
- Import from non-EU countries and safeguard measures (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry)