Bringing Meat/Cheese into Thailand

[BrianStar]

I've read many forums stating that you can't bring food into Thailand. It's obvious that you need a permit for commercial purposes, but I think I've verified that you can bring some personal food items which are restricted:

 

Customs states here that food is restricted:

https://www.customs.go.th/cont_strc_simple.php?ini_content=individual_160426_01&lang=en&left_menu=menu_individual_submenu_03_01

 

And then it references that the issuing authority is the FDA @ www.fda.moph.go.th

 

The FDA has limited quantities permitted for import for personal use:

https://en.fda.moph.go.th/guideline-of-importation-for-personal-use/bringing-of-health-products-into-the-kingdom-of-thailand-01

 

Is there any other agencies to worry about or does this verify that we are allowed to bring limited amounts of these items when traveling to Thailand?

Edited October 5 by BrianStar
found more information

[gearbox]

I brought cheese many times, up to 5-7kg, never had any issues. Coming back after a month and will load cheese again.

 

Don't bring pork products, the penalties are up to 200k baht fine and/or 2 years jail. At least it was like this 2 years ago.

[BrianStar]

32 minutes ago, gearbox said:

I brought cheese many times, up to 5-7kg, never had any issues. Coming back after a month and will load cheese again.

 

Don't bring pork products, the penalties are up to 200k baht fine and/or 2 years jail. At least it was like this 2 years ago.

Yes, I did read about the controls on pork due to illness outbreaks and pork is easy to obtain in Thailand so I don't know why anyone would bother to bring it. I plan to bring USA beef ribeye along with cheese.

[Gobbler]

24 minutes ago, BrianStar said:

Yes, I did read about the controls on pork due to illness outbreaks and pork is easy to obtain in Thailand so I don't know why anyone would bother to bring it. I plan to bring USA beef ribeye along with cheese.

Spoken like a man who hasn't watched any of the Customs series. 

 

One word: One word only Vasily - 

 

Chinese

 

[gearbox]

53 minutes ago, BrianStar said:

Yes, I did read about the controls on pork due to illness outbreaks and pork is easy to obtain in Thailand so I don't know why anyone would bother to bring it. I plan to bring USA beef ribeye along with cheese.

Pork meat is easy to obtain but a few kilos of Serrano ham here are worth almost as one way ticket to Europe.

[BrianStar]

6 minutes ago, gearbox said:

Pork meat is easy to obtain but a few kilos of Serrano ham here are worth almost as one way ticket to Europe.

I like to make everything myself. Smoking a ham is also on my list of abilities. Thailand has even encouraged me to get into cheese making but since aging cheese takes months, I need an initial supply to start my annual stay. It is possible to find good Ribeye but the price is high, they're often out of stock AND the quality is lower. My girlfriend does raise buffalo so maybe I can convince her to give me a calf and I'll feed it the corn it needs to be delicious! But otherwise, I can bring about 90 kg of stuff every year with 3 bags so I might as well take advantage of it. The plan is to build foam insulated boxes and keep each bag within the limit as listed by the FDA.

[cowellandrew]

I use to bring 10/15 of these to Thailand along time ago now, give or sell to expats,

Never a problem, also brought cheese and wine,

The wife takes vegetables/ fruit from Thailand to the uk usually 40 kgs,

Only once she a problem leaving Thailand for the uk and had 2kgs of nam pick in her carry on luggage, it was taken off her no fine we joked with the staff that they would be eating it later, another occasion flying into Manchester uk my wife had 2.5kgs of dired prawns, the limt was 2kgs so I said to the officer ok put 500grams in my bag! A no and confiscated!

😁😂🐘

[roo860]

21 minutes ago, cowellandrew said:

I use to bring 10/15 of these to Thailand along time ago now, give or sell to expats,

Never a problem, also brought cheese and wine,

The wife takes vegetables/ fruit from Thailand to the uk usually 40 kgs,

Only once she a problem leaving Thailand for the uk and had 2kgs of nam pick in her carry on luggage, it was taken off her no fine we joked with the staff that they would be eating it later, another occasion flying into Manchester uk my wife had 2.5kgs of dired prawns, the limt was 2kgs so I said to the officer ok put 500grams in my bag! A no and confiscated!

😁😂🐘

Last time my wife visited the UK she had around 20kg of food, they put her luggage at Manchester through the X-ray, she was convinced there would be a problem, nothing, wished her a good stay, bye bye.😀

Edited October 6 by roo860

[cowellandrew]

1 minute ago, roo860 said:

Last time my wife visited the UK she had around 20kg of food, they put her luggage at Manchester through the X-ray, she was convinced there would be a problem, nothing, wished her a good stay, bye bye.😀

Think my wife takes the pi@@ extra luggage allowance etc, now we dont travel together 

😂🐘

[cowellandrew]

Just now, cowellandrew said:

Think my wife takes the pi@@ extra luggage allowance etc, now we dont travel together 

😂🐘

On her way back to Thailand she takes 40kgs of clothes,toys, gifts that she has collected in the uk and gives them out to all the kids in the village 

[malt25]

You could bring a corpse into Thailand, as long as you didn't declare it !

[pest]

Just last week brought this in from Norway

[fredwiggy]

I bring back things I can't get here, and under the limits. Cereal, spaghetti sauces, pretzels, salad dressings, pasta, tuna, spray butter, and a few more, never a problem as only for personal use.

Edited October 7 by fredwiggy

[Aussiepeter]

Under NO circumstances should you even consider bringing in ANY meat into LOS, especially if you live there, unless you have deep pockets & lots of $. In the 25+ years I lived in Chiang Mai, I always brought in cheese & all manner of things I missed from home, but no meat. Entering through C Mai airport, I was seldom searched anyway. On one of my last trips before we left LOS for good I had cheese in a cooler box but couldn't find a cooler block to put in with it, so I put in two frozen sausages I found in the freezer in Oz, to keep the cheese cool. Although they usually waved me through at C Mai airport, that day they made me put my big bag through the x-ray. It was then that I saw the notice on the wall behind the machine and, all the penalties for bringing in ANY kind of meat ! They detected the sausages straight away, made me open the bag & I sh*t myself. One officer brought it to the attention of his senior, who asked me in English what it was and why I had done it, pointing to the sign on the wall. Luckily I speak pretty fluent Northern Thai & explained that my Thai wife had "asked me to buy her two chilli snags" & that "I am afraid of my Thai wife, so I always obey her" ! He laughed & shook his head, saying to the others in Thai, words to the effect that "it was only a small amount" & he let me go. Lucky they thought I really was scared of my wife. It clearly is not worth the potential risk ($$$) to bend this law....    

[newbee2022]

On 10/6/2024 at 12:47 AM, BrianStar said:

I've read many forums stating that you can't bring food into Thailand. It's obvious that you need a permit for commercial purposes, but I think I've verified that you can bring some personal food items which are restricted:

 

Customs states here that food is restricted:

https://www.customs.go.th/cont_strc_simple.php?ini_content=individual_160426_01&lang=en&left_menu=menu_individual_submenu_03_01

 

And then it references that the issuing authority is the FDA @ www.fda.moph.go.th

 

The FDA has limited quantities permitted for import for personal use:

https://en.fda.moph.go.th/guideline-of-importation-for-personal-use/bringing-of-health-products-into-the-kingdom-of-thailand-01

 

Is there any other agencies to worry about or does this verify that we are allowed to bring limited amounts of these items when traveling to Thailand?

For what ????

It's all available here. 😂😂😂

[seajae]

I brought in a whole aged rib eye from Australia, had it in a cooler bag with a few sheets of frozen cubes wrapped around it and inside my large bag, no one stopped me, also brought in honey and creamed honey as well as a few other bits & pieces. Now though I am able to get it from local shops so I only look at getting things not available here.

[MarkBR]

On 10/6/2024 at 1:34 AM, gearbox said:

I brought cheese many times, up to 5-7kg, never had any issues. Coming back after a month and will load cheese again.

 

Don't bring pork products, the penalties are up to 200k baht fine and/or 2 years jail. At least it was like this 2 years ago.

The pork is forbidden due to disease concerns, primarily swine fever which kills pigs very quickly.  There may be other diseases of concern such as parasites in the pork (called measly pork in Britain) such as trichinosis

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/trichinosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20378583

[LALes]

There are no good hot dogs here.  Thai/German are blah.  The German imports are OK but pricy and Villa stopped carrying the Hein imports.  A good Polish sausage dog doesn't exist here.  Gotta bring 'em from the States.  Dyin' for a Costco dog!

And don't get me started on those awful Oscar Meyer hot dogs, the only American brand available here.

[Yagoda]

1 hour ago, pest said:

Just last week brought this in from Norway

Yep. That looks like me, except last time I had Jelly Bellys, Matzo ball mix, Idahoan mash, British Peanuts, Tom Ford Tobacco Vanilla,  Grav Bong, Grav hitters, 120 days of prescription medicine, toothpaste, tooth brushes, OTC stuff, underwear that fits, Creed Aventus, Creed Green Irish Tweed, Clive Christian No 1, beard soap, steak rub, and so on.....

 

I declared everything I had ( $1000 worth of stuff) and was prepared to pay duty, but the dudes in Siem Reap said, have a nice day. Yes, thank you, I shall.

 

 

[Yagoda]

16 minutes ago, LALes said:

There are no good hot dogs here.  Thai/German are blah.  The German imports are OK but pricy and Villa stopped carrying the Hein imports.  A good Polish sausage dog doesn't exist here.  Gotta bring 'em from the States.  Dyin' for a Costco dog!

And don't get me started on those awful Oscar Meyer hot dogs, the only American brand available here.

If it isnt a Kosher Hebrew, it isnt a dog as we used to say. Cosco is Sahlens I think on the East Coast and they are excellent as are Sabretts.

 

They have Johnsonville Kielbasa here in Siem Reap. Frozen, close to expiration and $9 a package.

 

If you want one of the finest dogs you ever had, go to Walters across from Mamaroneck High School in Mamaroneck, NY (Westchester County). You will thank me.

Edited October 7 by Yagoda

[crazykopite]

T bags and cheese I get family and friends to bring but never meat 

[harryviking]

On 10/5/2024 at 9:09 PM, BrianStar said:

Yes, I did read about the controls on pork due to illness outbreaks and pork is easy to obtain in Thailand so I don't know why anyone would bother to bring it. I plan to bring USA beef ribeye along with cheese.

They have excellent local ribeye on the markets in Thailand. Been eating it for years! 😄

[CanadaSam]

10 hours ago, LALes said:

There are no good hot dogs here.

 

Funny story, a little off topic.  I too, have often wondered about the terrible hot dogs here.

 

Yesterday, the ball and chain took me to Lengkee restaurant in Klang, Pattaya because of the vegetarian festival, and outside, they have this vast variety of "pure veg" food.

 

She bought one that had small sausages in it, and she insisted that it was pure veg!

 

I tasted it, and it was better than 99% of all meat sausages I have had in LOS!!!

 

I'm sure there is some sort of scam going on, coz if those are really veg sausages, meat sausage companies would surely be going out of business!!!

[thailand49]

Twenty years coming and going Ive never bother to look at what I could bring in.

Meat in particular including pork I've brought in process already sealed like Baby back ribs, Mexican pull pork, even T- bone steak, and cheese included. 

Never been stopped!🤔

[still kicking]

19 minutes ago, thailand49 said:

Twenty years coming and going Ive never bother to look at what I could bring in.

Meat in particular including pork I've brought in process already sealed like Baby back ribs, Mexican pull pork, even T- bone steak, and cheese included. 

Never been stopped!🤔

Try bringing that into OZ.

[thailand49]

stick to the topic which is Thailand!

If I was reponding to down under you would have gotten a different answer.

[spidermike007]

I always bring about 5 to 10 kilos of goat cheese and aged Manchego cheese since they're both so spectacularly overpriced in Thailand, I bring them in my carry-on, so they stay cool. I've never had an issue, soft cheeses can be questioned by customs in the US, but hard cheeses are no problem.