Question: What is the policy about bringing food on the plane? Can I put it in my carry-on? Is there any restriction on any food? Do I have to pull it out for inspection?
Answer: It depends on the food. To be clear, you are asking about food you plan to bring to the airport with you and hope to carry through agricultural and security checkpoints onto a plane departing Hawaii for elsewhere in the United States. Yes, restrictions apply. Here is a summary, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Transportation and Security Administration.
>> Fresh fruits and vegetables: “Passengers flying from Hawaii, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands to the U.S. mainland cannot take most fresh fruits and vegetables due to the risk of spreading invasive plant pests,” according to the TSA. This prohibition applies to both checked and carry-on luggage. There are exceptions, such as for fresh pineapples, coconuts and irradiated papayas, which can be transported in solid form in carry-on or checked luggage.
This restriction is enforced by USDA agents, who scan checked bags near the airline counters and inspect carry-on luggage at TSA security checkpoints. (This answers another reader’s question: whether carry-on luggage was inspected for forbidden fruit; yes, it is.)
>> Food in liquid or gel form: Limits on liquids and gels in carry-on bags apply not only to toiletries, but also to food. So if the food is a liquid or gel, its container must hold 3.4 ounces (100 ml) or less by volume for it to be allowed in your carry-on bag.
Some passengers get caught with food they don’t consider a liquid or gel but which the TSA does. Examples include peanut butter, yogurt, creamy cheeses and dips, salsa, hummus and honey. If you plan to tote local favorites such as lilikoi butter or mango chutney, make sure the container is small enough to pass muster.
Liquid food can make it through the carry-on luggage checkpoint if it is frozen solid at the time of screening. However, if the food is slushy at all, the 3.4-ounce rule will apply.
As for what is allowed, in both carry-on and checked baggage: a seemingly endless array of solid foods, whether fresh, cooked or frozen — pizza, sandwiches, steaks, pies, cakes and on and on.
Coolers are allowed as carry-on and checked luggage, but the ice or ice packs inside must be frozen solid (like the food) when they go through the security screening. “If the ice or ice packs are partially melted and have any liquid at the bottom of the container, they will not be permitted,” the TSA says.
Dry ice also is an option, up to five pounds, as long as the package is properly vented and marked; this can be carry-on or checked luggage.
Whether you’ll have to remove any food for screening depends partly on how you pack the bag. Organizing the contents so that the X-ray machine can get a clear image of everything inside minimizes the risk of having to empty the bag.
As we said, these rules apply to food you bring with you to the airport — as you asked. You shouldn’t have trouble carrying food onto the plane that you buy at the airport after you’ve passed through the agricultural and security inspections.
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