As I was buying some homemade strawberry jam from Kula Country Farms on Maui this weekend, the woman ringing me up warned me that airport security wasn’t going to let the bottle through the checkpoint.
“No,” I said, in disbelief. “It’s jam. It’s not a liquid.”
The woman shrugged. “Well, I’ve had people complain.”
I wasn’t a believer. I mean, jam? A safety concern?
So I wrapped up the jam in some clothes — in case it leaked — and tucked it into my backpack. In my other carry-on, we had stashed guri guri, chocolate truffle mochi and a bottle of honey.
The jam went through security, no problem. But the honey was confiscated.
What gives?
According to the Transportation Security Administration, liquids aren’t the only things that won’t make it past security checkpoints. Here’s a list of gifts and foods that will be confiscated at the airport:
• Cranberry sauce
• Cologne and perfume
• Creamy dips and spreads including cheeses and peanut butter
• Gravy
• Jams
• Jellies
• Lotions
• Maple syrup
• Oils and vinegars
• Salad dressings
• Salsa
• Sauces
• Snowglobes
• Soups
• Wine, liquor and beer
Pies and cakes are OK. Poi, I’ve heard, is a no-go. And I guess airport security didn’t know what to do about the guri guri. (It’s sort of between a liquid and a solid.)
My problem isn’t that these items are deemed security risks — though, I’ll admit, maple syrup isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when I think “weapons of mass destruction” — but I’m annoyed that 1) most folks don’t know about these non-liquid items that won’t make it past security checkpoints and 2) TSA seems to be a bit inconsistent about following the rules. My strawberry jam went through, no problem. But the honey didn’t pass inspection.
Anyone else got a story to share?
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To read all of Cat’s blogs, visit www.nonstophonolulu.com/thedailydish. Follow Cat on Twitter @thedailydish or send her an e-mail at [email protected]
41 Comments
Hello Cat!
I don’t carry on anything that’s is even close to being liquid or jell form. The TSA people must score a lot of stuff. 🙂
@M We gave ours to the Food Bank. I was glad the airport had a drop for that.
@Cat @M I always thought they should have a postal drop box nearby so you could quickly box and ship that stuff in the event that you can’t take it through. I’ve seen some people have to give us expensive colognes and other liquids at the checkpoint as well. Bummers!
CAT,
Once TSA got cranked up, traveling became a hassle so what I did was wore no belt, kept no pocket change, only had a lap top for carry on, no jewelry other than a watch, wore slip on type shoes with no heel back, no keys in the pockets. The next step would have meant I board the plane neked!
it was pre- 9/11. i was stopped at the Orlando airport. I had a box, carry on size, what was in it could not be x-rayed.. i asked for a manual inspection. supervisors were called, discussions were held, more supervisors were called. i missed the plane and had to wait four hours for another flight.
i had been in Fla to retrieve Mag tapes that contained phone call billing data owned by my company. these tapes had to be ‘rated’ – converted to a database that Pacific Bell could digest and use to bill customers– mine.
the rater i had been using in Orlando had melted down and was not prepping the tapes. there was more than 8 million dollars of inventory on those tapes
If it wiggles when you jiggle, then no chance taking um on da plane. Anything that looks like liquid be it in paste, gel, or semi-solid that is over 3 oz will be taken. No chance um especially if it’s omiyage or souvenirs. Check it in.
When I travel. pockets are empty, I have web belt that won’t buzz the machine. I take out my wallet cause no like chance the magnetic strip buzz the machine or all that metal strips in the bundle of $100 bills that I miss I had 🙂 Jacket stuffed in backpack. etc. If people give me stuff to bring home on a daytrip, I make sure I can carry on otherwise, I’ll eat it or drink it before I get to the airport 🙂 Yum, is that wine?
Cat, you left water off the list. My mother had that confiscated. Keep in mind that the terrorist can disguise any compound as a liquid that looks like something else, or put it in a container that’s marked differently. It’s not a case of what you know the substance is because you bought it. It’s a case of what the substance could be, and therefore disallowed in the passenger compartment.
The only thing I bring onboard the aircraft is reading material, personal electronics and the camera. Everything else goes into checked luggage. If it’s that valuable, I mail it home and avoid airport security.
Cat, you left water off the list. My mother had that confiscated. Keep in mind that the terrorist can disguise any compound as a liquid that looks like something else, or put it in a container that’s marked differently. It’s not a case of what you know the substance is because you bought it. It’s a case of what the substance could be and therefore not allowed in the passenger section.
When I fly, I bring onboard only reading materials, personal electronics and a small camera. No liquids. The rest goes into checked luggage. If it’s valuable, I mail it home.
My father almost had a small utility knife with sentimental value confiscated. He was able to mail that home. Both learned that day, you don’t fuss around with airport security requirements. Leave it home, or check it into the luggage. They learned their lesson that day, and I no longer have to hound them about that.
@Ron I usually bring an empty water bottle with me so I can fill it up once I get through security. Much better than buying a $4 bottle at a shop.
@jennalanger Yes, that’s a good idea. Normally, I fly interisland, so good water is not a problem. If I bring a water bottle, I’ll drink too much and have to go searching for a restroom. At home, I have a stainless steel water bottle, but that never goes flying with me. It’ll get confiscated because it’s easy to turn that into a device so I leave it home. Just easier to buy a plastic bottle on the mainland and recycle it when I’m done.
I took a trip to Asia this February and had my fingernail clippers confiscated… I guess the big kind has a nail filer that is considered a weapon. I like the big ones because my toenails are easier to cut. My first thought was that it was unfair. Slowly but surely i am getting to the point I don’t care anymore about these things. last trip they tossed my tube of toothpaste and mouthwash. Maybe if I started brushing with strawberry jam???
@dbjack Nail filers? Just as bad as my friend’s eyelash curler that got confiscated. Strange way to die.
@Cat I am thinking with those clippers I would have had to stab the flight attendant approximately 2500 times to kill them… might have been quicker to file off their skull cap… maybe if we joined forces we could take out a flight attendant with the curlers and nail filer before reaching Kona…. unless the top peeled off the plane before arrival.
OK, I’ll try posting this morning since it seems others have had success. It still wouldn’t allow me to pst last night…
My friend has his own plane. I fly with him to the Big Isle sometimes to crash at his Waimea pad for a long weekend sometimes. Since we have to keep weight down (single-engine plane), I usually only bring a carry on with my camera equip. Well, one time the weather was bad, so I had to fly back commercial out of Kona. I had JUST bought a full line of men’s facial creams and lotions at Macy’s. About $200 worth… well, I had to throw it ALL away. I had to get back for an appointment that I could not miss, my friend already had left to return to Waimea, and the carryon I had brought had camera equip inside and simply wouldn’t have worked for check in at all!
Grrrrrrrrrr…
P.S.
Yes, I know… face creams… OK, I am an admitted metrosexual.
@MaxMaxMax Facial cream for $200? I refrain from comment. 🙂
@Cat — Cream”s” plural, LOL! Shaving cream, after shave gel, moisturizer, sun block, eye cream, night cream and repair lotion… there, does that make it sound better??? Hmmm… probably not! I need an intervention.
i agree w/ Ron 2 put the items in the checked luggage, and not as carry on.
Once i bought a bottle of wine from Washington and was told at the Sea-Tac security gate that the wine was not allowed. so, instead of dumping the wine i checked my backpack as luggage (it didn’t cost me anything 2 check in 2 bags at that time). since then, i check all my viscous and aqueous omiyage as luggage, and carry on my clothing 2 make the weight requirement.
I had one of those tiny Swiss Army knife facsimilies (about 1-2 inches long) that I kept in my purse for emergencies. It’s one of those dinky logo items that companies give out as a souvenir. It made it through several states
@Melissa808 Yes, but it’s a knife. And it’s you. 🙂
@Melissa808 You’re lucky. That normally gets seized.
@Ron oh, the knife got seized. my post got cut off. long story short, the toothpick holding my pastrami sandwich together was longer than the so-called blade! I was so mad!
Zippy’s chili is another one that could go either way.
i am known by TSA as cake carry on. i bring one or two cakes with me ALL THE TIME, and do feel sorry for the jellies and jam and honey people that can’t. sometimes, the cake has a pool of jellies, and that is still ok.
Last week, TSA confiscated my grapes and a fresh peach from my carry-on!! I was flying from HNL to Denver and took the red-eye flight. Took my snacks so as not to have to buy the $9 snacks on board. First time they ever did that – this was at the United security line.
Flying to Canada or Singapore – they don’t allow nail clippers or tweezers in carry-ons. Check those in or they’ll be taken away like mine. I also had an order of summer rolls with me along with that peanut sauce? Pour the sauce over the rolls and then you can go through the line, else the sauce is a ‘liquid’ and it gets confiscated.
And yes – bring an empty water bottle with you to fill in the airport or on board.
@smurata Grapes? Are you serious?
I did have a friend whose eyelash curlers got confiscated. Death by eyelash curler!
Where do I begin… let me count the ways!
When TSA first started up even the worker’s weren’t sure as to what to allow thru or not. Walking thru HNL with plate lunches to catch a red eye, I had to eat about half my Chili Plate before they let me thru (didn’t touch my Teri Chicken though). My traveling buddy had to give up most of his Shoyu packets that was in his carryon. I think even at that time the small personal size toothpaste wasn’t allowed on the flight.
Even at the interisland terminals, TSA didn’t allow Cream Puffs, Pies, or Jellied Cakes thru at one time. Happily the rules changed somewhat and most time the Hawaii TSA folks will let most of the food stuff thru to interisland or domestic destinations, subject to size, weight, and current limitations of course.
Sadly I do see kids crying at the inspection area when parents fail to prepare the childs carryon. The TSA folks need to take away the toy guns, badges (looks like Shiruken’s), and Play Dough. The parents are left to explain to the crying child as to why the uniformed person has to take away their favorite play item.
Went thru United LAX about 3-4 years ago. I was the only one walking down the carpet to the magnetometer. No one in front of me, no one behind me. Just me, my carryon, and my 24 Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
You get the usual ribbing just before entering the magnetometer “Sir we have to inspect each doughnut” and remarks like that which is fine with me as it’s all in fun. As I clear the magnetometer one of the TSA guys steps up and says “Sir, we have to ask you to step aside”… and I get wanded. No one else came thru the magnetometer while I was getting wanded. I can’t express in writing what I was thinking at the time and keep this a “G-rated” comment.
Must have been a slow period or a trainee doing the wanding. Took almost 5 minutes for this wanding. Happy note on this was the 2nd TSA guy in the background that was just watching. As the wanding ended and I collected my belongings he nods his head, flashes the shaka sign, and says “Tanks eh”. I’m assuming he had to know that only Hawaii folks would carry Krispy Kreme boxes as carryon so I was an “easy” mark.
As for smurata’s confiscation of her fresh fruits. It’s not TSA that confiscated the fruits, its the Federal Agriculture Inspectors that sit at the end of the rolling conveyor belt as your belongings clear X-Ray. Practically all fresh fruits cannot pass thru the airport via carry on. Unless you’re a commercial producer that has the necessary paperwork in order, it’s best not to bring fresh fruit to the airport unless you eat it before the TSA Inspection Area.
A friend works as a Fed Ag Inspector so I know enough not to bring fresh fruit as I leave HNL. Frozen or preserved fruits are okay as long as it’s part of the checked in luggage.
@harrycovair The best was the Medfly scare in SFO in 1980. The family went from Hawaii to SFO for a short vacation. California had special ag inspectors in the terminal heading out of the gates. Since the flight landed from Hawaii, the inspector asked “Do you have any fruits?” “Oh sure…preserved fruits” one of us replied and started to show him the bag. He grabbed the bag and said “Sorry, we have claim all fruits…”
“But, wait! Take a look.” He opened up the five pound paper bag and pulled up the first bag of preserved mango seed. He took one sniff and gasped…..”If any fruit fly can live through that, he deserves to live…” and gave us back the bag of five pounds of crack seed. (@Cat, this is right up your alley—-more fuud!)
@Ron (@Cat That’s what growing up in Hawai`i is all about. The mixture of cultures and the blending of food. One memorable moment was eating Sweet Whole Seed (the one with the “shredded grass” on the outside) when on the mainland.
I was waiting for somebody at a mall and was getting these strange looks from a couple of mainlanders as I was spitting out the seeds into a cup. I casually said something like “this is just rolled up rabbit droppings” as I offered the package. I can still visualize their expression of horrific disgust. I had the whole package to myself.
Interesting post, Cat! Earlier in the month, we flew to Maui for a campaign shoot and I wore the wrong pants! All of my buttons were triggering the detector and I got frisked going and coming back home. We’re not talking a simple pat down, this was a five-minute, next to cavity search. I also had to un-zip my pants. It’s all good though, I guess they’re just doing their jobs.
Great to see all of this awesome conversation! Quick poll: are comments working better now? If you’re still having trouble, let us know! We want to make sure this is working as best as possible!
@NonstopHonolulu I like the threaded blogs. Works out nice.
@Ron Thanks for the input, Ron! Appreciate it. Good night!
Just remembered this: TSA will set up random wandings at the gate. I assume that flights are picked at random and passengers are also inspected at random. The TSA folks will arrive just before boarding time and set up a makeshift “clean area” to the side of the gate.
I got wanded once in PDX (Portland, OR) but I’ve seen this setup in HNL, SEA (Seattle, WA), and EWR (Newark, NJ).
i swear it was not me, but i now know that you CAN carry on sex toys – big ones too!
@turkfontaine Oh, Turk. I’m so glad you’re here. 🙂
@Cat if i’m here, can Rosette be far behind?
@turkfontaine Yeah, where is she? I miss her.
Oh, and in Paris, they confiscated my damn mascara!
@Melissa808 WHY?? That makes NO sense.
@Cat I know, it was sealed