Timeline for Travelling into UK with a wooden chopping board?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
13 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jan 27, 2023 at 15:29 | comment | added | user3067860 | @Willeke The question is about a cutting board...those are often unprocessed, because a lot of wood processing (pressure treating, resin stabilizing, etc.) is not necessarily food safe, or sometimes even just the perception that such processes may not be food safe. (And obviously things like pesticide are right out...) | |
| Jan 27, 2023 at 13:58 | comment | added | Tor-Einar Jarnbjo | @Willeke I'm not sure about Australia, but almost everywhere else in the world I have been, it is not uncommon that products made of more or less fresh wood are sold, often made by local craftsmen and directly marketed at tourists. Your last claim ("finished wooden item is usually not a problem ...") is simply wrong. In the EU, there are for example relatively strict restrictions for import of many types of wood from certain origins to prevent the spread of the Asian long-horned beetle. These restrictions even apply to packaging material made of wood. | |
| Jan 27, 2023 at 8:30 | comment | added | jwenting | It also depends on the type of wood. Any wood coming from protected plant species would almost certainly raise very serious eyebrows, and could lead to confiscation, fines, or worse. Not a problem with a piece of oak, but say koa (no a NZ species, it only grows on some islands in the Hawaiian chain) need a special permit. | |
| Jan 26, 2023 at 18:04 | comment | added | Willeke♦ | @Tor-EinarJarnbjo, saying that you can not take wood into the UK is like saying you can not take medication into the UK. There are some (rare) exceptions which are not allowed but for the most you can just bring it in. I would not suggest to take green wood (just cut down trees) but a finished wooden item is usually not a problem anywhere in Europe or North America. | |
| Jan 26, 2023 at 17:43 | comment | added | Mark Johnson | @GiacomoCatenazzi Yes, the proper clasification is most likely Commodity code 4419900000: Tableware and kitchenware, of wood, Other - UK Integrated Online Tariff - GOV.UK ; chopping boards are not a organic produce. | |
| Jan 26, 2023 at 13:36 | comment | added | Giacomo Catenazzi | Note: it is about a unprocessed (or with little processes) wood (which can contain diseases and bugs, and it is easy to miss them). In any case, it is simpler to ask border protection (the above link has also a contact email). | |
| Jan 26, 2023 at 10:57 | comment | added | Tor-Einar Jarnbjo | @lambshaanxy The restricted 'plant products' described on the page I am linking to do of course have nothing to do with living plants. 'Wood' is explicitely mentioned as a regulated plant product. | |
| Jan 26, 2023 at 10:48 | comment | added | Tor-Einar Jarnbjo | @MarkJohnson The page I am linking to concerns 'plants' (living plants) and 'plant products', under which, and I repeat myself, 'wood' is explicitely mentioned: ‘Plant product’ means products of plant origin, unprocessed or having undergone simple preparation, in so far as these are not plants, including wood and bark. I don't see why wooden chopping boards should not be covered by that description. The purpose of the restriction is to prevent import of plant pests and diseases and a wooden chopping board could of course be a risk. | |
| Jan 26, 2023 at 10:26 | comment | added | Mark Johnson | @lambshaanxy I agree. That why I quoted the living part of a plant to make that clear. | |
| Jan 26, 2023 at 10:21 | comment | added | lambshaanxy | @MarkJohnson Even the most enthusiastic Customs officer would likely struggle to call a wooden chopping board made from treated wood a "living part of a plant". | |
| Jan 26, 2023 at 9:53 | comment | added | Mark Johnson | The living part of a plant (including a 'Plant product', unprocessed or having undergone simple preparation) is restricted both in the UK and EU. | |
| Jan 26, 2023 at 9:17 | comment | added | Tor-Einar Jarnbjo | What makes you think so? Wood is explicitely mentioned here: gov.uk/guidance/… | |
| Jan 26, 2023 at 9:10 | history | answered | Willeke♦ | CC BY-SA 4.0 |