Food products

In order to protect persons and animals from dangerous infectious diseases in the European Union, including Latvia, there are strict rules concerning import of food products into the territory of the European Union. When arriving from a country which is not an EU member state, food products in your personal baggage and for your personal consumption will be subject to strict veterinary control at the place of border crossing regarding harmlessness of such products.

Prohibited goods

It is prohibited to import the following products of plant and animal origin in the territory of the European Union in the personal baggage for private consumption or use:

• meat and meat products (bacon, fresh or cured meat, incl. poultry meat, animal fat, sausages, canned meat, pastry stuffed with meat or containing meat, pasta, gravy, soups etc.);
• milk and dairy products (milk, yoghurt, cream, cottage cheese, kefir, cheese, butter, condensed milk, ice-cream etc.);
• pet food containing meat or milk (pet food, chewable toys for dogs, wholemeal flour mixtures);
• potatoes;
• all dried beans originating in Nigeria;
• from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus – goods subject to EU sanctions:
  • spirits;
  • caviar and caviar substitutes;
  • crustaceans (lobsters, spiny lobsters, crabs, crayfish, shrimps, langoustines).

• It is prohibited to import agricultural and animal feed products from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus into Latvia, as specified in the Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No.158 of 5 March 2024:

Goods admissible without restrictions

The following products can be imported without restrictions from the third countries in the Member States of the European Union when carried in the personal baggage for private consumption or use:

1.  processed food products of non-animal origin; for example, bread, cakes, cookies, candy, chocolate, pasta and similar products;
2. certain fresh fruit: bananas, coconuts, dates, pineapples and durians (except from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, as given in the section “Prohibited goods”).

Restricted goods

It is allowed to import into the European Union from the third countries without veterinary or phytosanitary border control and observing the quantities allowed for one person for private consumption:

1. Up to 2 kg (from the Faeroe Islands, Greenland – up to 10 kg) the following animal origin products: 
   • honey, eggs, live oysters, live shell-fishes, and snails, royal jelly, bee-glue;
   • dry milk for babies, baby food, special food for medical purposes, as well as pet food in patented packaging indicating the producer's information regarding special use.
      
2. Provided that you have a phytosanitary certificate issued in the third country – up to 2 kg of fresh fruit products (fruit, vegetables, nuts in shell), except from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, as given in the section “Prohibited goods”. 
   If the total weight of the fresh fruit, vegetables and berries exceeds 2 kg, then the products shall be presented for controls to the Food and Veterinary Service. 
3. Up to 20 kg of fishery products (from the Faeroe Islands and Greenland- without quantity restrictions. Exception which applies to any country – sturgeon roe – up to 125 g per package with special label It is prohibited to import caviar and caviar substitutes from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus):
   • fresh (obligatory condition – gutted, also those which are imported undivided), dried, treated with hear, salted, smokedor canned fish;
   • some crustaceans, for instance, shrimps, lobsters (except crustaceans from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus).
4. Up to 5 kg of fresh products or up to 2 kg of other products (dried, prepared) of non-animal origin listed in Annexes I and II to the Regulation No 2019/1793 (the list is updated every six months), and up to 10 kg of fresh products or up to 2 kg of other products (dried, processed) listed in Annex II to the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1158 (wild berries, mushrooms and products containing them; except from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, as given in the section “Prohibited goods”).
   If the total weight exceeds certain quantities, they must be presented for control by the Food and Veterinary Service. The import of the above products requires an official certificate issued by a third country.
5. In order to import plants intended for planting, including seeds, a phytosanitary certificate issued by a competent authority of a third country is required and must be presented for control by the Food and Veterinary Service.

Please also consult the information material prepared by the Food and Veterinary Service.

Quantity restrictions are not established for import or posting of animal origin products for private consumption from the following countries : Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, San Marino and Switzerland.

(!) Important

If the afore mentioned requirements are not observed and an attempt to import the prohibited animal origin food products is detected, or if the quantities exceed the allowed weight restrictions at the point of the Latvian border crossing, such products shall be confiscated by the customs officials and shall be destroyed. Violations of the rules concerning import of animal origin food products shall result in calling to administrative justice, but n case of a repeated violation – penalty.

In order not to commit administrative offences, travellers are asked to leave the prohibited food products in special labelled containers at the customs control point before the customs control.

Information concerning the rules for import of food products and product groups to which special requirements apply, for instance, food supplements, mineral water, sports food, etc., can be obtained at the home page of the Food and Veterinary Service .