Getting Through TSA Security With Thanksgiving Foods

Planning to haul your favorite Thanksgiving dishes on the plane with you? Think again! Check out this handy list of food items you can and cannot take through a TSA security checkpoint at the airport.

With the surging airplane ticket prices during the holidays, we know that there are some LGBTQ+ travelers that will have a stay close to home for the holidays or opt to drive to their Friendsgiving or Turkey Day gathering with the family. But just in case you’ve already made plans to fly during the holiday, then we’re about to drop some knowledge to help you travel safely to Glam-mama’s house or wherever you decide to go via airplane. 

So, before you agree to bring your favorite food item to contribute to the Thanksgiving holiday table, it’s important to think about how you’re planning 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 there are some items that will need to be transported in checked baggage.

Here’s some food for thought. 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.

Food items often need some additional security screening, so TSA recommends placing those items in a clear plastic bag or another container 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. 

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. 

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, and greens.

• Fresh fruit. Apples, pears, pineapple, lemons, limes, cranberries, blueberries, strawberries, bananas.

• 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

If you are unsure if a food 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. Another option is for passengers to tweet to @AskTSA to ask how best to travel with a specific food item.

Additionally, you should also check out the U.S. Food and Drug Administration also has recommendations on holiday food safety to ensure food items are properly packed, and click here for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s tips for handling food safely while traveling.