Author Topic: Home Made Cheese - Importing To Canada?  (Read 2738 times)

psearle

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Home Made Cheese - Importing To Canada?
« on: July 16, 2012, 09:30:32 AM »
At the end of August I'm going to Canada from the UK to visit my eldest son and family for a month.  I'd really like to bring them some of my home made cheeses (a Tomme or two and perhaps a goats' milk Camembert) but I know that Canadian border restrictions can be quite draconian.  Does anyone on this forum have any experience/advice on this?

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has an automated Import Reference System which seems to imply that cheeses for personal consumption can be imported up to a limit of 20kg or 20C$ but that might only relate to packaged, labelled, commercial cheese.   "Googling" the question just seems to bring up lots of contradictory answers.

With all the members on this forum I'm sure that someone must have been in this situation before.

Peter


Margo McIntosh

  • Guest
Re: Home Made Cheese - Importing To Canada?
« Reply #1 on: July 18, 2012, 11:11:11 AM »
We can go across the border to the US and bring back raw milk and raw cheese with no problem so I don't see why you would have a problem with bringing in cheese by air.  It is only illegal in Canada for a person to sell or distribute raw milk, not for a person to consume it or buy it.  Our government is ridiculous and we have a group working to make some changes.  Please see our website at www.rawmilkconsumer.ca and if you could please circulate this through your Canadian friends and or family we would appreciate it.  We are going to government in the fall of 2012 both federally and provincially.  I have a working group from across the country working on an information package for government right now.

psearle

  • Guest
Re: Home Made Cheese - Importing To Canada?
« Reply #2 on: July 27, 2012, 10:53:07 AM »
Many thanks for the information, Margo.  I will certainly circulate your link to our relatives and friends in Canada.

We are blessed here in the UK with being members of the European Union.  This ensures that we get ever increasing regulations to stop anyone other the big multi-nationals from making or selling anything.  The rest of the EU has the regulations but largely ignores them; our government is much more responsible and has employed vast numbers of "jobs-worths" to enforce them! 

Cheers

Peter

Threelittlepiggiescheese

  • Guest
Re: Home Made Cheese - Importing To Canada?
« Reply #3 on: July 27, 2012, 12:51:39 PM »
Margo, if you think our gov up here in Canada is bad, try taking kinder eggs south! They are just as illegal as if you had cocaine or heroin on you.