You desperately want to take that beloved stuffing on board with you on your way to visit family for Thanksgiving, but can you? The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) gives a rundown of food items that can go through security checkpoints without issues.
A general rule of thumb according to the TSA is, “if it’s a solid item, then it can go through a checkpoint. However, if you can spill it, spread it, spray it, pump it or pour it, and it’s larger than 3.4 ounces, then it should go in a checked bag.”
Here is a list of the foods that can fly with you in your carry-on and ones that need to go in checked luggage. Godspeed that yummy pie makes it!
Thanksgiving foods that can be carried through a TSA checkpoint:
- Baked goods. Homemade or store-bought pies, cakes, cookies, brownies and other sweet treats
- Meats. Turkey, chicken, ham, steak. Frozen, cooked or uncooked
- Stuffing. Cooked, uncooked, in a box or in a bag
- Casseroles. Traditional green beans and onion straws or something more exotic
- Mac ‘n Cheese. Cooked in a pan or traveling with the ingredients to cook it at your destination,
- Fresh vegetables. Potatoes, yams, broccoli, green beans, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, beets, radishes, carrots, squash, greens
- Fresh fruit. Apples, pears, pineapple, lemons, limes, cranberries, blueberries, strawberries, bananas, kiwi
- Candy.
- Spices.
Thanksgiving foods that should be carefully packed in your checked luggage:
- Cranberry sauce. Homemade or canned are spreadable, so check them.
- Gravy. Homemade or in a jar/can.
- Wine, champagne, sparking apple cider.
- Canned fruit or vegetables. It’s got liquid in the can, so check them.
- Preserves, jams and jellies. They are spreadable, so best to check them.
- Maple syrup.
The TSA recommends placing those items in a clear plastic bag or other containers when packing them at home and then removing those items from your carry-on bag and placing them in a bin for screening at the checkpoint. You can also tweet @AskTSA to ask how best to travel with a specific food item too! TSA media spokespeople from various airlines can also weigh in!