Can you bring Parmigiano Reggiano home from Italy?
Car, or no car?A dairy visit booked direct costs €15–35. What the tours below sell is the ride out to the dairy by 9am, and the ham and balsamic stops.
Compare all sevenGreat Britain: the rule changed in 2025
This is the one I have to repeat most often, because so much of what is online is out of date. Since 12 April 2025, travellers cannot bring cheese from the EU into Great Britain, which means England, Scotland and Wales, for their own use. It is a foot-and-mouth disease measure, and it covers dairy products from the whole EU, not just from Italy. The gov.uk page on meat, dairy and animal products was updated on 9 September 2026 and the restriction was still there.
Many blog posts and older guides say a hard cheese like Parmigiano Reggiano is fine. They were written before April 2025. Northern Ireland has its own rules, set separately, and the gov.uk page points you to them. If you are flying home to Britain, my suggestion is simple: taste at the dairy, eat well while you are here, and buy only what you will finish in Italy. Check the gov.uk page again before you fly, because the rule may change.
United States: allowed, and declare it
The US Department of Agriculture’s inspection service, APHIS, allows solid hard cheese in from any country. The condition is that you declare it. APHIS says plainly that if you declare all the agricultural products you are carrying, you face no penalty, even if an inspector decides an item cannot come in. Keep the receipts and the original packaging, which show where it came from. The traveller guidance is on the APHIS page for travellers.
If you are comparing it with what you buy at home, the difference in name matters. What is sold as parmesan in the US is a different, generic standard, and I explain it on Parmigiano Reggiano vs parmesan.
Within the EU
Travelling between EU countries, you can carry it home. That is the easy case.
Where to buy it, and what dairies charge
Dairies sell direct from their own shop, the spaccio, and buying there is part of the morning for most people. At the Consorzio’s open-dairies weekend, 85% of visitors bought cheese. As a reference, these are San Pier Damiani’s online shop prices in September 2026:
| Age | Price per kg |
|---|---|
| 12 months | €20 |
| 24 months | €22.50 |
| 36 months | €30 |
| 60 months | €38.50–43 |
I could not verify what the same dairy charges over its shop counter, and I will not quote a supermarket price per kilo, because I have none I can stand behind. For scale, the Consorzio’s 2025 wholesale reference was €13.22 a kilo at 12 months and €15.59 at 24. Which age to buy is a matter of taste, and I describe each on how it is made.
Packing it and keeping it
Ask the dairy to vacuum-pack it. Sealed that way, it keeps for about six months, stored at 4 to 8 °C. The Consorzio does not advise freezing it. Once opened, the rind is natural and untreated, so it is edible after you clean it.
If you are flying to the United States, keep the cheese in its dairy packaging with the receipt in the same bag, and declare it. Declaring costs you nothing.
If the shop is a large part of why you want to go, read is it worth it first, particularly if you live in Britain.
Cheapest near ParmaFrom Milk to Wheels: Parmesan Tour & Tasting in Parma
Dairy onlyParma: Traditional Cheese Factory Visit with Tasting
Most bookedParma: Parmigiano Production and Parma Ham Tour & Tasting
Frequently asked questions
Can I bring Parmigiano Reggiano back to the UK?
Not to Great Britain at the moment. Since 12 April 2025 travellers cannot bring cheese from the EU into England, Scotland or Wales for personal use, a foot-and-mouth measure still in force when gov.uk updated its page on 9 September 2026. Northern Ireland has different rules.
Can I bring Parmigiano Reggiano into the United States?
Yes. APHIS allows solid hard cheese from any country, as long as you declare it. Declaring carries no penalty, even if an item is refused. Keep receipts and original packaging.
How long does vacuum-packed Parmigiano Reggiano keep?
About six months, stored at 4 to 8 °C, according to the Consorzio, which does not advise freezing it.
Is it cheaper to buy Parmigiano Reggiano at the dairy?
I cannot say, because I have no verified shop price to compare with. For reference, San Pier Damiani’s online shop charged €20 a kilo at 12 months and €30 at 36 months in September 2026. Booking a dairy visit.