If You’re Flying, Here’s What Foods TSA Says You Can Bring
Yeah, I know. We're not supposed to be travelling anywhere for Thanksgiving. You're being discouraged from taking a car ride, let alone a plane trip. But, if you're going anyway, here's what you can bring along.
The TSA (Transportation Safety Administration) is also of a mind that you should, in the efforts of getting COVID-19 under control, not be heading out across the country for Thanksgiving weekend. But, in looking at the numbers of people screened at U.S. airports last weekend, it certainly seems like the projected 35% to 45% of those who say they're going anyway appears to be accurate.
It also seems that many who are going somewhere for Thanksgiving are wanting to bring along food for the holiday meal. I've always thought that if you took the red-eye to Uncle Phil's place for the festivities, you'd be off the hook as far as providing fare for the table.
And, perhaps in most families you are. Maybe the people want to bring their own Thanksgiving foods with them because Uncle Phil is a crappy cook. I don't know.
So, here's the rundown on the stuff you can carry-on, the stuff you have to pack in your checked baggage, and the stuff you should just leave at home. As a side note, if Uncle Phil runs a dry household, and you want to BYOB, alcoholic beverages with more than 24% but not more than 70% alcohol are limited in checked bags to 5 liters (1.3 gallons) per passenger and must be in unopened retail packaging. Alcoholic beverages with 24% alcohol or less are not subject to limitations in checked bags.
Stuff that can be carried through a TSA checkpoint:
- Homemade or store-bought baked goods
- Frozen, cooked or uncooked meats
- Boxed or bagged stuffing
- Casseroles
- Mac ‘n Cheese cooked in a pan
- Fresh vegetables
- Fresh fruits
- Candy
- Spices
Joe Dredge and I had a laugh over the notion of Mac 'n Cheese cooked in a pan. I mean, where else do you prep your Mac 'n Cheese? "I'm sorry sir, but this Mac 'n Cheese is in a Pringles can! What are you trying to pull?"
Here's the stuff you have to pack in your checked baggage:
- Homemade or canned cranberry sauce
- Homemade or packaged gravy (jar/can)
- Wine, champagne or sparking apple cider
- Canned fruit or vegetables
- Preserves, jams or jellies
- Maple syrup
Each airline passenger is allowed to pack a quart-sized bag of liquids, aerosols, gels, creams and pastes in a single carry-on bag, however, individual containers cannot exceed 3.4 ounces. This rule extends to beverages, spreads and cooking sprays.
Yeah, nothing says "I'm here to help" quite like bringing along Pam cooking spray and a can of cranberry sauce.