WASHINGTON — As people across the country travel for the Thanksgiving holiday citizens may need some insight on what foods they can carry onto the plane through the TSA checkpoint or what foods need to be transported in checked baggage when traveling.
Food items need additional security screening, so TSA recommends placing those items in a clear plastic bag or other 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.
Travelers who are unsure if an item should be packed in a carry-on or checked bag can check the TSA homepagefor frequently asked questions or tweet to @AskTSA to ask how best to travel with a specific food item. It also important to keep food safe to prevent against foodborne illnesses and the U.S. Department of Agriculture also has tips for handling food safely while traveling.
Here are the 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.
- 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.