Check It, Or Carry On? TSA Dishes On Your Favorite Thanksgiving Foods

NEWARK, NJ — Thanksgiving staples such as cranberry sauce, gravy or a bottle of wine are an essential part of the holiday. But if you’re planning on bringing one of these items aboard a plane this year, don’t expect to take them in your carry-on luggage, authorities say.

According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), most foods can be carried through an airport checkpoint. But there are some items that will need to be transported in checked baggage.

Ahead of the holiday, the TSA released a list of some of the most common items that people have questions about whenever Thanksgiving rolls around.

OK FOR CARRY-ON LUGGAGE

• 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

PUT IN 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 (they have liquid in the can, so check them)
• Preserves, jams and jellies (they're spreadable, so best to check them)
• Maple syrup

Can’t remember these lists verbatim? Here is a good, simple rule of thumb, the TSA says:

“Here’s some food for thought. 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 often 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, TSA officials said.

Travelers who are unsure if a food item should be packed in a carry-on or checked bag can check the TSA homepage, which has a “What can I bring?” feature.

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