Can you bring raw turkey on a plane this Thanksgiving? TSA has the answer

As many travel to and from loved ones’ homes this week, food will often be in transport—dishes to share and leftovers to spare. This Thanksgiving is expected to bring record travel numbers on the road and in the sky, leaving many wondering how to travel with food.

For those hoping to bring food to family members, whether cooked or uncooked, there is good news. TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein told Newsweek that both raw and cooked meat such as turkey and ham can be brought through airport security in the U.S., as well as a number of other foods.

“Most foods can be carried through a TSA checkpoint, but there are some items that will need to be transported in checked baggage,” she said. “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 and then removing those items from your bag and placing them in a bin for screening at the checkpoint.”

Farbstein told Newsweek that the Thanksgiving foods that can be carried through TSA include:

• Baked goods. Homemade or store-bought pies, cakes, cookies, brownies and other sweet treats.
• Meats. Turkey, chicken, ham, steak. Frozen, cooked or uncooked. “It’s not uncommon to see people bringing the meats,” said Farbstein.
• 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.

“Same goes for leftovers,” she said. “Plenty of college students like to bring back leftover turkey, ham and side dishes back to campus with them after the holiday. Again, the trick is knowing where to pack the items.”

TSA is gearing up for its busiest Thanksgiving period on record. It is projected to screen 18.3 million people from Tuesday, November 26 to Monday, December 2, up 6 percent from 2023’s number.

Meanwhile, the three busiest travel days will be Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after the holiday.

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