food stuffs in hand luggage ?

Here are the UK rules martyn.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTr ... /DG_078179

They are, after all 'airport' rules rather than 'aircraft carrier' rules. The air line don't check what you carry on, only airport security.
The rules do not appear to disallow tins of corned beef or packages of mashed potato, but, personally I wouldn't put them into carry on luggage as I think it is a question just dying to be asked.
If you are unfortunate enough to be trying to board while they are at the height of a security alert then you will undoubtedly have the potential to answer many questions..
If you want to use all you allowances then, personally, I would swap the tins & packets with a couple of pairs of jeans out of my case & put the tins into the hold & the jeans into the overhead locker. Far less room for confusion that way, I think...

The wife always carries a lot of dried fish back with her, no problem. They will not allow dried meats and no produce

But if it is your main luggage then no one in the UK would look at it, the only possibility would be customs in BKK.
If you carry it in carry on then UK will certainly see it, plus you have an equal chance that Thai officials will see it where ever it is...

if you are thinking of bringing cans of corned beef then i would put them in your hold luggage. if you had small tins of pate in your hand luggage then no problem, if you had tins of corned beef i can hear security tell you if you threw one on the plane it could cause a lot of damage so the cans are confiscated.this might sound stupid i think security do not want to make any mistakes. plus i would not like my bag of cans falling out of the overhead locker on to me.