When packing for a flight, you may want to take some food items, including liquids, with you on your trip. But you might be wondering if the food items you want to take will make it through security, let alone on the airplane.
So before you decide to pack food for your trip the first thing you need to decide is if you going to be taking a checked bag, a carry on the bag or both, because depending on which bag you pack food intro, if has a major on which food items you are going to be able to take with you onto the plane.
And in case you are a new flyer, I will briefly explain the difference between a checked bag and a carry-on bag. A carry-on bag would be a small suitcase or bag that is small enough to carry with you on the plane, and would be able to fit into the overhead storage compartments on the airplane. A checked bag is going to be anything larger than a carry-on bag that is too big to fit in the overhead storage compartments and would have to be stored in the designated storage area underneath the airplane.
The reason it matters what type of luggage you pack food into is because a carry-on bag has stricter security measures than a checked bag. And this is because you do have full access to your carry bag for the duration of your flight, and so you are limited to wanting to bring on the board. So any liquid, aerosol, gel. Cream or paste has to follow what’s known as the 3-1-1 rule for a carry-on bag.
The rule states that you are limited to travel size containers that are 3.4 ounces or less per item. Now you can pack as many of those containers that fit into one single quart size bag. However, you are only allowed one bag per passenger. so I am going to break up the list of foods into three parts.
- Food allowed in both checked and carry-on bags.
- Foods ok to pack in checked bag, but limited in carry on bag
- Exceptions to the 3-1-1 rule
And just note, ultimately the TSA does have the final say on which items of food are allowed through screening. So just because they are listed as approved foods, the TSA can overrule any item if they choose to. Here is a list of foods that can be packed into your checked or carry-on bag with no restrictions.
Bread, candy, as long as it’s not a liquid or gel. Gummy type candy like gummy bears are okay. Cereal, solid cheese, solid chocolate, coffee, and these can be beans or ground coffee. An empty coffee thermos. I know that’s not a food but just wanted to put that in there. Cooked meat, seafood, and vegetables as long as there’s no liquid. Cookies, crackers, dried fruits, fresh eggs, gum, nuts, solid pet food, dry or moist pet food are considered solid food. Pies and cakes, pizza, protein or energy powders, salt, sandwich, snacks bar or snacks as long as it’s not a liquid or gel. Dry spices, dry tea bags or loose tea leaves.
This obviously is not a complete list, but these are most commonly asked about foods. These are foods that you are allowed to pack in your checked bag but would be limited in a carry-on bag.
These foods are creamy, chocolate in liquid form, coffee in liquid form, creamy dips and spreads, gravy, honey, hummus, ice cream, jam and jelly, maple syrup, juices, oils and vinegars, peanut butter, and ye,s according to the TSA peanut butter is considered a liquid. Wet pet foods, salad dressing, salsa and sauces, soda, soups and yogurt.
To go along with the list, bottled water. There is no limitation to how much you can pack in a checked bag, however, you do want to make sure your bag doesn’t exceed the weight restriction for a checked bag.
For most airlines, it is 50 pounds and if you want to pack water in your carry-on, it is subject to the 3.4 ounce rule.
Now what I usually do is just pack an empty water bottle, and once you are through security, you can fill it up at a water fountain, and most airports these days do have filtered water stations.
Alcoholic beverages with more than 24% but not more than 70% alcohol are limited in checked bags to 5 liters or 1.3 gallons per passenger, and must be in unopened retail packaging.
Alcoholic beverages with less than 24% alcohol are not subject to these limitations.
Note, if you wanted to pack alcohol in your carry-on bag, they have to be the mini bottles of alcohol and they would all have to fit in that quart-sized bag. Now any alcohol more than 70% alcohol or over 140 proof is all prohibited in both your checked and your carry-on bag.
Canned foods, no problem to pack these in a checked bag. They can be packed in a carry on bag, however, because of how they appear on the x-ray, it could require additional screening, which could result in the item not being allowed through the checkpoint. For this reason, it is recommended to keep canned foods packed in a checked bag.
Fresh foods and vegetables that are allowed to be packed in either a checked bag, as long as they are not a liquid or gel form. Just note that you cannot take most fresh fruits and vegetables due to the risk of spreading invasive plants.
Fresh meat, seafood, and other frozen foods. These items and other non-liquid items are allowed in your checked or carry-on bag. If you are going to be packing these items in a cooler or container filled with ice or ice packs, the ice and ice packs need to be completely frozen when going through security. Now if the ice or ice packs are half melted or slushy or the liquid at the bottom of the container, they are not going to be permitted to go through security.
You can also pack frozen perishables in your carry-on or checked bag in dry ice.