Can I take food and drink on an aeroplane?

[lagunabeach]

Hello

In a months time I am flying from Heathrow to JFK in New York, and then back. I am really confused about all these new liquids and food rules. So I was unsure if I can take toothpaste in my suitcase (Not hand luggage)?

When flying back from New York city to London, I was hoping to take a (6) pack of Mountain Dew cans in my suitcase too.. will this be allowed or will they confiscate the drinks? And as well as this I want to buy various foods to take back, like twinkies and hershys and candy etc. Is this allowed?

Thanks for replies.

[Gok Wan]

The restrictions were on liquids in hand luggage, not your suitcase which goes into the hold.

You best bet will be to check the website for whichever airline you are flying with.

[lagunabeach]

OK thanks, so all food and drinks are allowed as long as they are not hand luggage?

Is there still a restriction on how much drink or food I can bring back? Im flying with virgin atlantic I cant seem to find any information on their website.

[Buenchico]

As Gok Wan states, the restrictions on liquids only apply to hand luggage. The details are here:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/transportforyou/airtrave l/airportsecurity/

You can normally take food and drink in your hold luggage as long as it doesn't contravene, for example, rules about the importation of meat or dairy products. Additionally, of course, there are limits on the amount of alcohol you can bring back from non-EU countries.

However, Mountain Dew isn't alcoholic and doesn't breach any food regulations (neither does your confectionery) so you can bring back as much as you like (subject, of course, to your baggage allowance).

The total value of gifts, souvenirs, etc, that you can bring back should not exceed �145, otherwise you'll have to pay Import Duty and VAT. (Your Mountain Dew and confectionery theoretically counts towards the �145 total, although HMRC might ignore them if you only had small quantities).

Virgin Atlantic baggage information:
http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb/passenger information/baggage/index.jsp

HMRC import rules:
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebAp p/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_page Label=pageTravel_ShowContent&id=HMCE_PROD_0102 20&propertyType=document

Chris

[lagunabeach]

Wow, thats really helpful.
Thanks so much!