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The short answer
For Great Britain, GOV.UK bans meat and milk products from outside the EU (except up to 2kg of infant or medical food), allows up to 20kg per person of fish such as dried or smoked fish, and requires a plant health certificate for most fresh fruit and vegetables. Plantain, mango, coconut and packaged processed foods are allowed without one.
A box from home with crayfish, stockfish, ogbono and garri is one of the small comforts of living in the UK. It is also where many people get caught out, because UK rules on food from outside the EU are strict about animal products. This guide sets out what the GOV.UK personal import guidance says for Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), what it does not cover, and how to avoid a parcel being seized. Northern Ireland has different rules.
The short version
| Item | What GOV.UK says for food from outside the EU |
|---|---|
| Meat and meat products (suya, kilishi, ponmo, dried beef) | Not allowed |
| Milk and milk products (wara, cheese, milk powder) | Not allowed, except powdered infant milk, infant food or special medical food up to 2kg per person |
| Fish (stockfish, dried or smoked fish, crayfish, prawns) | Up to 20kg per person in total; fresh fish must be gutted, other fish dried, cooked, cured or smoked |
| Snails | Allowed only if preserved, or shelled, cooked and prepared |
| Honey | Up to 2kg per person |
| Most fresh fruit and vegetables | Need a phytosanitary (plant health) certificate |
| Plantain, banana, mango, coconut, pineapple, citrus, guava, dates | Allowed without a certificate |
| Processed, packaged plant products; rice | Allowed without a certificate |
Animal products: where most parcels fail
The clearest rule is that you cannot bring meat or meat products into Great Britain from a country outside the EU. That covers smoked, dried and spiced meat as well as fresh, so suya spice mixed with meat, kilishi and dried cow skin (ponmo) all fall on the wrong side. Bushmeat is a separate and more serious matter; see our guide on why bushmeat imports are illegal.
Milk and milk-based products are also not allowed. The only exception is powdered infant milk, infant food or special food needed for medical reasons, up to 2kg per person, which must not need refrigeration before use and must be in branded, unopened packaging unless it is in current use.
Fish, crayfish and stockfish
Fish is treated more generously. GOV.UK allows up to 20kg per person in total of fish, which includes fish products, lobsters and prawns. Fresh fish must be gutted; processed fish must be dried, cooked, cured or smoked. Dried crayfish, stockfish and smoked fish therefore fit within the rule as long as the combined weight stays at or under 20kg. Caviar needs a CITES permit. For commercial quantities, the rules are different; see importing dried fish and stockfish.
Eggs and other animal products
The non-EU section of the GOV.UK page does not mention eggs. Treat that as a gap, not a permission: leave eggs out of a parcel from Nigeria. Live mussels or oysters are limited to 2kg, and frogs' legs must be the hind part with skin and organs removed.
Plant foods: what needs a certificate
GOV.UK says you cannot bring in most fruit or vegetables without a phytosanitary certificate from the plant health authority of the country you are leaving. Without one, you can bring only the items it lists: pineapple, kiwi, coconut, citrus fruits, kumquat, persimmon, durian, curry leaves, banana and plantain, mango, dates, passion fruit and guava, plus processed and packaged plant products, peeled and processed nuts or nut butters, and certain grains such as rice.
- Packaged, processed foods such as garri, poundo flour or packaged spices appear to fall under processed and packaged plant products.
- Fresh peppers, ugu, bitter leaf and fresh yam are not on the exempt list, so they need a certificate.
- The non-EU section does not mention seeds. Egusi and ogbono are seeds; the safest choice is shelled, processed and sealed product, and if you are unsure, leave it out.
- Bread, biscuits, cakes without fresh cream, packaged soups and stocks, and pasta or noodles without meat can come from any country without restriction.
Parcels, couriers and the gaps in the rules
The GOV.UK pages are written around food you bring in for your own use. They do not spell out how the same limits apply to a parcel sent by post or a cargo box. Do not assume a parcel is checked less closely than a suitcase. Before your family packs anything, ask the courier or cargo firm in writing what it accepts for the UK and what paperwork it needs, and keep the reply. Ask too whether it has its own list of items it refuses; read our guide to cargo boxes between the UK and Nigeria for how those services work.
If you are buying to resell, the personal rules do not apply at all: you are an importer, and our guide to meat, fish and dairy import bans explains the commercial route. GOV.UK also links a section on what happens if you break the rules, which you should read before sending anything borderline.
What to check first
- Read the current GOV.UK page on the day the parcel is packed.
- Keep animal products to fish only, within 20kg, dried or smoked.
- Send fresh vegetables only if a plant health certificate comes with them.
- Choose sealed, labelled, processed packs where you can.
- Get the courier's acceptance list in writing.
Where Pryme fits
Often the simplest answer is to pay for the food here instead of shipping it. If family in Lagos are buying foodstuff for you or for themselves, you can send naira from your Pryme account with Send, swapping pounds when you choose with Swap; the app shows the rate and the fee before you approve. Outside Nigeria, Pryme's activities are carried out through regulated partners.
Questions people ask
Can I bring stockfish from Nigeria to the UK?
GOV.UK allows up to 20kg per person in total of fish from outside the EU, including dried or smoked fish, so stockfish is allowed within that limit for your own use.
Is crayfish allowed in the UK from Nigeria?
Dried crayfish counts as fish or shellfish within the 20kg per person total in the GOV.UK guidance.
Can my mum post me suya or kilishi?
No. GOV.UK says meat and meat products cannot be brought into Great Britain from countries outside the EU.
Can I bring ugu or fresh pepper from Nigeria?
Most fresh vegetables need a phytosanitary certificate. Fresh peppers and leafy vegetables are not on the GOV.UK list of exempt items.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Bringing food into Great Britain - meat, dairy, fish and animal products · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: Bringing food into Great Britain - fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: Bringing food into Great Britain - overview · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.