WASHINGTON — The Transportation Security Administration issued a reminder to Thanksgiving travelers this week: Before you agree to bring a favorite food item to the holiday table, be sure to plan how you're going to transport it if you're traveling by air.
Most foods can be carried through a TSA checkpoint, but there are some items that will need to travel in your checked baggage, the agency said.
"Here's some food for thought: If it's a solid item, then it can go through a checkpoint," the TSA said in a press release. "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."
Food items often need to undergo additional security screening, the TSA added. It's best to place those items in an easily accessible area of your carry-on luggage if you're taking food on the plane.
If you're not sure if your food item should be checked, you can visit the TSA homepage, which has a “What can I bring?” feature, the TSA said.
All you have to do is type in the item and find out if you can carry it through a checkpoint or if it should be checked.
Another option is for passengers to tweet their questions to @AskTSA to find out how best to travel with a specific food item or inquire via Facebook Messenger, the agency added.
Here are examples of the most commonly asked questions about which food items are permissible through a checkpoint and which ones need to get packed in checked baggage.
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 with your checked baggage
- 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.
