If you want to fly home with your favorite Thanksgiving dish and don’t know if you should pack it or not, here are a few tips from the TSA on getting through security.
Turkeys, casseroles and an array of side dishes will likely board planes along with the millions of passengers expected to fly this Thanksgiving holiday.
But can you board a plane with a glazed ham? What about a sweet potato casserole?
While most foods can be carried through airport checkpoints, some need to be checked into baggage.
“If it’s a solid item, then it can go through a checkpoint,” the Transportation Security Administration officials said in a release. “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.”
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If a dish needs to be kept cold during a flight, officials say ice packs are permissible but must be frozen solid when going through security checkpoints.
Here’s a complete list of Thanksgiving dishes that can fly with travelers as carry-ons and dished that should be safely stored in checked luggage.
Thanksgiving foods that can be carried through TSA checkpoints
- 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
- 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
To see if dishes not listed can fly, be checked or neither, travelers can check the TSA’s “What can I bring?” tool, or inquire with @AskTSA on Facebook Messenger or X, formerly known as Twitter.
Click here for more FDA tips and guidelines for traveling safely with food this holiday season.
