TSA guidelines on holiday food and travel – KBSI Fox 23 Cape Girardeau News

(KBSI) – The Transportation Security Administration says they are prepared for Thanksgiving travel as they expect it may be one of the busiest travel periods on record.

TSA is projected to screen 18.3 million people from Tuesday, Nov. 26 to Monday, Dec. 2, representing a volume increase of approximately 6 percent from this time last year.

With Thanksgiving travel comes traveling with Thanksgiving food or leftovers. TSA says there’s a few things you should know before traveling with food over the holidays.

TSA says 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.

General rule of thumb is 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 typically 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 removing those items from your bag and placing them in a bin for screening at the checkpoint.

Unsure if an item should be packed in a carry-on bag, checked bag, either or neither?  You can check the TSA app for details.

Download the free myTSA app,

According to the TSA website these items CAN be carried through a TSA check point

• 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.

According to the TSA website these items should be packed with your checked luggage

• 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.