Before you bring a favorite food to the airport for a Christmas or New Year’s celebration, it’s important to think about how you plan to transport it if you are flying to spend the holiday with family or friends.
Most foods can be carried through a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint, but some items will need to be transported in checked baggage.
Here’s some food for thought. If it’s a solid item, 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.
Food items often need some additional security screening, so it’s a good idea to remove food items from a carry-on bag and place them in a bin for quicker screening at the checkpoint.
Travelers who are unsure if an item should be packed in a carry-on or checked bag can check the TSA homepage, which has a helpful “What can I bring?” feature.
Type in the item and find out if you can carry it through a checkpoint or if it should be checked.
This also is the time of year that passengers frequently travel with gifts. TSA recommends packing gifts in gift bags or boxes instead of wrapping them because if a gift triggers an alarm, it will need to be opened to resolve the alarm.
Wrapped gifts that trigger an alarm will need the gift wrap removed, but if the gift is in a bag or a box, it is simple to look at the item to resolve the alarm.
Snow globes, a popular holiday gift, should be packed in a checked bag if the globe of water contains more than 3.4 ounces of liquid.
As a rule of thumb, if the globe is smaller than a tennis ball, it is less than 3.4 ounces, so it is permitted to be carried through a checkpoint. Just pack those larger snow globes in a checked bag.
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.
It is also important to remember food safety by storing the food properly while traveling to prevent foodborne illness.
If you need to keep items cold during your trip, ice packs are permissible, but they must be frozen solid and not melted when they go through security screening.
Additionally, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration also has recommendations on holiday food safety.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture also has tips for handling food safely while traveling.
Holiday foods that can be carried through a TSA checkpoint
- Fruitcake
- Cookies, cake, pies
- Chocolates
- Candy canes
- Fruit and nut baskets
- Spices
- Ham (frozen or cooked)
Holiday foods that should be carefully packed with your checked baggage
- Egg Nog
- Champagne, wine, sparkling apple cider
- Cranberry sauce. (homemade or store-bought) are spreadable, so check them.
- Preserves, jams and jellies (homemade or store-bought) are spreadable, so best to check them.
- Maple syrup