Can you put canned food in checked-in bags on flights to Iceland from the US?

Upvote:-3

We had no problems bringing canned goods in. As far as food goes, the only thing I recall being prohibited was raw meat (Which also includes cured and smoked meats like bacon and uncooked hams.) I highly recommend you bring as much food with you as possible, as food costs are high in Iceland. At least bring your trail lunches in cans.

In fact, once you pass through immigration, you're not even questioned. The hallway splits into red (declare) and green (nothing to declare), and if you go green, there's not even a guard there (although, I assume they do spot checks).

Upvote:1

I can't specifically address the Iceland side of this. However, we have put a fair variety of foodstuffs into checked baggage over the years. Canned foods will almost certainly draw a TSA inspection (substantial blobs of amorphous organic material get looked at, it's not the can that's the issue) and they have never taken a can so they pretty obviously have no problem with it. (The only thing that's ever been taken was a bag of macadamia nuts some hungry TSA agent stole.)

You should also check what Iceland says about the food you plan to bring.

Also, cans are heavy. Most canned goods are packed with liquid in the can also--that's heavy. I would be looking at foods packed in other ways if possible. You mention oil in the can--the only cans with oil I'm aware of are tuna fish--and there is now plastic-packed tuna with no liquid. It's more expensive but much lighter and you don't need a can opener, either.

Upvote:2

Keflavik Airport's (the main airport in Iceland) website states this:

Examples of goods subject to an importation ban:

Narcotics and dangerous drugs

Chewing tobacco and snuff

Uncooked meat products

In general, the condition for importing meat products is that they be fully cooked or tinned. Smoking, salting or drying without cooking is not sufficient. For example, the import of bacon, sausages (salami, meat sausages and all kinds of smoked, uncooked sausages), smoked saddle of pork and poultry is prohibited.

Uncooked milk and raw eggs

Various types of weapons

If you're departing from Iceland with these canned goods, that should not be an issue. I went to Iceland this summer, and someone in the line next to me checked a styrofoam box of fish, which the agent didn't seem to have a problem with. I'm sure he had issues at US customs, though.

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