Hold the gravy: Here’s how to fly with Thanksgiving foods

By News10NBC

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The TSA is reminding travelers who plan on flying with Thanksgiving dishes to think about how they’re transporting their food.

Most foods can be carried through a TSA checkpoint but there are some items that will need to be transported in checked baggage.

If the food is 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 it is best to place those items in an easily accessible location of the carry-on when packing them and then remove those items from your bag and place them in a bin for screening at the checkpoint.

Travelers who are unsure if a food item should be packed in a carry-on or checked bag can check the TSA homepage. On the page “What can I bring?”, you can type in the item to find out if you can carry it through a checkpoint or if it should be checked.

Thanksgiving foods that can be carried through a TSA checkpoint include:

  • 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 include:

  • 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.