Bringing Food Into Germany 2026: What's Allowed and What's Banned

By Marwan · moved to Germany in 2023 · facts verified June 2026

Every Arab who moves here knows the second suitcase: the one your mother packs, somehow heavier than your own, full of white cheese, a tray of kibbeh, a box of mangoes, a tub of ghee. The quiet truth is that the bag you bring from home to Germany and the bag you would take the other way are two completely different things, because most of what gets lovingly packed for you simply can't come through German customs. Meat and dairy from outside the EU aren't allowed in, and mango is off the list too. It isn't about tax, it's about keeping animal and plant diseases out, so there's no paying a little to keep it. What helps is that plenty still travels just fine: dates, honey, za'atar, olive oil, sweets, your good coffee. So before you fill that second suitcase, here is what actually makes it across and what doesn't.

Banned

Meat and all dairy from outside the EU

5 fruits

The only ones that skip the plant certificate

€430

Duty-free goods (air or sea)

€10,000

Cash you have to declare

Let me be straight with you about meat and dairy

If you're flying in from a non-EU country, the official rule is blunt: no meat and no dairy in your luggage at all. Not fresh or frozen meat, not sujuk or basterma, not white cheese, not labneh, not butter, and not ghee (samn). The reason is real, not bureaucratic pettiness. Meat and milk can carry diseases like foot-and-mouth, and a single infected piece in a suitcase is genuinely how outbreaks have jumped borders before. So I take this one seriously, and I'd ask you to as well.

Now the honest part, because you'll hear different things from different relatives. There's a real difference between what's a hard red line and what's technically banned but low-drama in practice:

The genuine red line: meat, and big quantities of anything

Don't bring meat. Frankfurt and Munich airports have dogs trained specifically to sniff out food, the fines are real, and frankly the disease reason is sound. A cooler of frozen lamb or a kilo of sujuk is exactly what they're looking for. This is the one I'd never gamble on, full stop.

The grey zone: a small sealed piece of cheese or a box of sweets

Officially this is banned too. In reality, customs can't open every bag, and a vacuum-sealed 200g piece of cheese or a tray of your mum's sweets tucked into a checked suitcase is something a lot of families quietly bring without ever being stopped. I'm not going to tell you to do it. What I'll tell you honestly is the downside: if they do find it, it gets taken and binned, and for a small personal amount that's usually the end of it. So it's your call, but go in knowing it's still against the rules.

The ghee and butter trap in sweets

This is the one that catches families off guard: maamoul, baklava and a lot of home sweets are made with samn or butter, which is dairy, so on paper they fall under the same ban even though they're "just sweets". Plant-based sweets made with oil instead of butter are completely fine. Honestly, my advice is to leave the butter trays at home and buy them fresh here, because every German city has Arab sweet shops now, and you'll be glad not to worry about it.

The few exceptions to the ban: sealed, branded powdered infant formula, baby food and special medical foods, up to 2 kg, as long as they don't need refrigerating before opening. And the ban doesn't apply at all to a handful of neighbours that count as "inside" the EU here, like Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra and San Marino.

The mango heartbreak, and why dates are your friend

Fresh fruit and veg have their own rule, and it's stricter than almost anyone expects. Since December 2019, nearly every plant or plant product coming into the EU from outside needs a plant-health certificate, an official document from the country it grew in. You won't have one in your suitcase, which in plain terms means fresh produce shouldn't really be in there.

There's one kind exception: exactly five fruits are let off the certificate and can travel freely.

PineappleBananaCoconutDurianDates

Look at what's missing: mango, guava, citrus, pomegranate, fresh figs, apples, none of them are exempt. Mango especially is a known fruit-fly carrier, which is exactly why it's controlled, so that famous box of Egyptian or Pakistani mangoes is, strictly speaking, a problem. Dates are the happy exception, so bring as many as you like. For everything else, just buy it here. German supermarkets and the Arab and Turkish grocers carry mango, pomegranate and the rest all year round, and you'll find them faster than you think.

The good news: what you can absolutely bring

It's genuinely not all bad. Here's the stuff that travels without a second thought, for your own use:

Item	Allowed?	Notes
Dates (تمر)	Yes	One of only five fruits that skip the plant certificate. Bring a whole suitcase if you want.
Honey	Yes, up to 2 kg	Sealed jars travel best. Over 2 kg and it stops counting as personal use.
Dried spices and herbs (za'atar, sumac, dried mint)	Yes	Dried and packaged is always fine. It's fresh leaves and seeds-for-planting that are the problem, not your spice bag.
Olive oil, olives, pickles, tahini, halva, jam	Yes	Processed, plant-based, no meat or milk. Just put liquids in your checked bag so security doesn't take them.
Nuts, dried fruit, coffee, tea	Yes	Bring the good coffee. Nobody is stopping you.
Sweets and baked goods without butter, ghee or milk	Yes	Plant-based sweets sail through. The butter and ghee ones are the catch (more below).
Fish and seafood	Up to 20 kg	Gutted fresh, or cooked and processed. One big whole fish is fine even over 20 kg.
Infant formula and special medical food	Up to 2 kg	Must be a sealed branded pack that doesn't need refrigerating before you open it.

The simple rule I go by: if it's dried, processed, sealed and plant-based, it travels. If it's fresh, raw or animal-based, it doesn't. And when you're genuinely not sure, just walk through the red channel and declare it. Declaring honestly costs you nothing worse than losing the item; hiding it is what turns into a fine.

Your duty-free allowances (the non-food stuff)

Separate from all the food rules, everyone arriving from outside the EU gets a personal allowance of goods, alcohol and tobacco before customs duty starts. Go over it and you just declare the extra and pay the duty. It isn't banned, only taxed.

Category	Duty-free limit (from outside the EU)
Goods (gifts, electronics, etc.)	€430 by air or sea, €300 by land, €175 for under-15s
Cigarettes (17+)	200 cigarettes, or 50 cigars, or 250 g tobacco
Spirits (17+)	1 L over 22%, or 2 L up to 22%
Wine and beer (17+)	4 L wine, plus 16 L beer

You can't split one expensive item across several people, and the tobacco and alcohol limits are only for travellers 17 and over. Check the current numbers on zoll.de before any big purchase.

Cash and gold: the €10,000 line

You can bring in as much money as you want. The only thing you must do is declare it to customs if you're carrying 10,000 euros or more (per person, in cash or its equivalent), whether you're coming in or going out. There's no tax on it, it's purely an anti-money-laundering check, and the only thing that gets people in trouble is not declaring. Undeclared cash can be held and fined, and that's an avoidable headache.

One update that surprises people: since 2021, gold counts as "cash" for this. Gold coins that are 90% pure or more, and bars that are 99.5% or more, get added to your banknotes when working out whether you've hit 10,000. The gold jewellery you wear as personal effects is treated differently and is generally fine, though new gold also counts toward your 430-euro goods allowance. The short version: wedding gold on your hand, no problem; a bag of new coins, declare it.

Medicines, and the few things that are simply off-limits

Medicines for personal use

Bring what you genuinely need for yourself, roughly up to a three-month supply, in the original boxes, ideally with the prescription. The one to sort out before you fly is controlled medicines: strong painkillers and some sleep and psychiatric drugs need the prescription and sometimes a special certificate. It's a five-minute check that saves a lot of stress.

The genuine no-go list

A few things are flatly prohibited no matter the amount and will be confiscated: products from protected species (real ivory, certain corals, some skins and traditional remedies, all covered by CITES), counterfeit branded goods, and khat (qat). If a souvenir might be made from an endangered animal or plant, check before you buy it abroad rather than risk it at the border.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I bring meat or cheese from home?

Meat, no. That's the real red line and I'd never risk it. Cheese and other dairy are officially banned too, all of it, including labneh, white cheese, butter and ghee. In practice a small sealed piece of cheese in a checked bag is something a lot of families quietly bring and customs rarely opens every suitcase, but if they do find it, it's gone, and I wouldn't gamble anything I'd be sad to lose. Meat is a different category entirely: it's the disease risk they actually train dogs for, and the fines are real.

Why is mango a problem when dates are fine?

Since December 2019 almost all fresh fruit and veg from outside the EU needs a plant-health certificate that you, as a traveller, won't have. Exactly five fruits are let off: pineapple, banana, coconut, durian and dates. Mango isn't one of them (it's a classic fruit-fly carrier), so strictly it shouldn't be in your bag. Dates, luckily, are exempt, so load up on those and buy your mango here.

What about za'atar, spices and olive oil?

All completely fine, and they're the things I actually miss most, so bring plenty. The plant rules only care about fresh produce, live plants and seeds for planting, not your dried za'atar, sumac, spices, olive oil, olives, tahini, halva, jam, nuts, coffee or tea. As long as there's no meat or milk in it, pack it.

How much cash can I bring?

As much as you like, but the moment you're carrying 10,000 euros or more (per person, cash or its equivalent) you have to declare it to customs on the way in or out. It isn't taxed, it's just an anti-money-laundering check. And since 2021 gold coins and bars count toward that 10,000 too, not only banknotes. The only real mistake here is not declaring: undeclared cash can be held and fined.

Is my gold jewellery going to be an issue?

Jewellery you're wearing or carrying as personal effects is generally fine, so the gold on your hand at a wedding is not a problem. New gold is where it gets technical: it counts toward your 430-euro goods allowance, and gold coins or bars count toward that 10,000-euro cash line. So: wedding gold worn on you, relax; a bag of new bullion, declare it.

Can I bring my family's medicines?

Yes, enough for your own use, roughly up to three months' worth, kept in the original boxes with the prescription if you have it. The one to check before you fly is controlled stuff: strong painkillers, some sleep and psychiatric medicines need the prescription and sometimes a special certificate. Five minutes of checking saves a very bad conversation at the airport.

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Sources

The figures and requirements on this page are based on the following official sources. Rules change — always confirm with the German embassy or authority responsible for your case.

Your Europe — Taking animal products, food or plants into the EU — official EU rules on meat, dairy, honey, fish and the personal-import limits
European Commission — Personal imports of food — the detailed list of what travellers may and may not bring
European Commission — Plant health rules (phytosanitary certificates) — the certificate requirement for fruit and plants, and the five exempt fruits
German Customs (Zoll) — Travellers' allowances — the €430 goods allowance, tobacco and alcohol limits
Your Europe — Cash controls when entering or leaving the EU — the €10,000 cash (and gold) declaration threshold

Facts and figures last verified: June 2026

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