transporting food in checked baggage

hi guys ,
 i have been searching with no luck about whether i am allowed to carry spices in my checked suitcase (not hand luggage) when travelling back to the uk.
i also have some dried moughrabieh-(something similar to dried flour balls--stuff that are not available in the uk).

nothing is cooked or can go off.
help please or do u know a website that gives information about what not to pack ?
thanks

I'm pretty sure you can bring in most things as long as they're not fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy (milk/cheese) or meat products, so you should be okay with spices.

You can find more information here:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/illegali/allow/whatfood.htm

and here:

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageTravel_ShowContent&id=HMCE_PROD_009845&propertyType=document

you are a star!
thanks!!!
xxx

Definitely! I've brought spices, dried chilis, etc back in both checked and carry on luggage without any trouble at all! 

great thanks again!!!
x

Same here, I usually bring one suitcase full of groceries back with me into the UK when I come to the states. One time I bought a HUGE bag of foodstuffs back with me, and when I got home to the UK it had a card from the Customs in it saying my bag was chosen to be randomly searched, I can only imagine what the agents were thinking when they opened my bag full of Pudding, Peanut Butter M&M's and Crystal Light mix!!!

I can only imagine what the agents were thinking when they opened my bag full of Pudding, Peanut Butter M&M's and Crystal Light mix!!!

This made me laugh!    Those PB M&M's really weigh down the luggage too, don't they?

....I can only imagine what the agents were thinking when they opened my bag full of Pudding, Peanut Butter M&M's and Crystal Light mix!!!

Well the last time my bag got searched by the good ole TSA, perhaps better known as 'Loot & Ransack R Us' (gotta love 'em   )...they had poked holes in my little boxes of Jello instant pudding - I guess to make sure it wasn't DRUGS?!!  wtf!    Fortunately, I had put the pudding boxes in a carrier bag, and they had wrapped it back up in the carrier bag - so I didn't have pudding powder all over the rest of the contents of my luggage.  But I had to throw away the pudding when I got home, because god knows what they poked into it with?!! 

Our luggage with food is always checked by the TSA; we think it's the Velveeta ;-) Can't imagine how hunks of fake cheese scan; I bet the alarms go off. Also the packages of white albacore tuna (not tins, some kind of aluminum foil type pouch). We never had anything opened; I'm sure the TSA had a good chuckle at our Cheerios. As an aside, why ever are the UK Cheerios (just oats) coated with that sweet flavor....ruins a perfectly good Cheerio.

The good news is that after + 2 years we find that we come back with less food. I think we've adapted and decided, "yuck," to some of the items that we used to think we couldn't live without.

Good luck & Cheerio

Came through JFK/Manchester airport yesterday with a suitcase full of 12 lbs of Dunkin Donuts French Vanilla Coffee, 12 boxes of pudding mix, about 50 small tubs of Crystal Light, Peanut Butter M&M's, 5 boxes of Sweettarts, 7 deoderants, industrial sized packs of Qtips, Buffalo Wing Sauce, Kosher Salt and a box of Bare Esentuals Mineral Makeup.

Tomorrow I make it all into a soup.
lol

LOL.  Glad to hear you're well stocked on goodies!  So jealous, I could barely get 5 things for myself in the suitcases we had they were all packed with clothes & toys for DD!  We did get some double chocolate Oreos cake bars though. 

Came through JFK/Manchester airport yesterday with a suitcase full of 12 lbs of Dunkin Donuts French Vanilla Coffee, 12 boxes of pudding mix, about 50 small tubs of Crystal Light, Peanut Butter M&M's, 5 boxes of Sweettarts, 7 deoderants, industrial sized packs of Qtips, Buffalo Wing Sauce, Kosher Salt and a box of Bare Esentuals Mineral Makeup.

Tomorrow I make it all into a soup.
lol

Im jealous!! Our last trip back I could only bring back two measly pounds of Dunkin donuts coffee because my suitcase was already *stand on top of it and have hubby zip it* full from my clothes shopping spree... and thats all I could fit in. 

No one has ever stopped me. In 4.5 years of living here. One 2005 trip in particular, I remember that I came into the UK with 6 dozen tortillas (the big kind), six cans of refried beans, six jars of queso dip, and a few jars of Whole Foods Salsa Verde. All wrapped in newspaper in my suitcase. DEN => ORD => LHR. No problem.