<p>If you want to travel by air this holiday season and plan on packing some homemade foods in your carry-on, TSA warns: you may be forced to thow out some homemade goodies that are considered “liquids”:</p>
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<p>Seriously, they really mean it. When we were flying this summer, I met a lady who was going through the security twice. First time, she was asked to toss the strawberries from her garden because they got partially squished and were declared “liquids” :eek: She chose to go back and eat them.</p>
<p>Wow! I lucked out in October - I was in Allentown for an event on D’s campus, and hit up the farmer’s market the morning I flew out for some beautiful blackberries and raspberries. Had no problem getting them through security, but by the time I got home a couple pieces of each fruit had definitely turned to liquid in my carry-on. Thankfully I sort of expected it to a certain degree, was prepared for that and had wrapped them up well. Everyone was surprised, though, when I told them I’d brought home berries and gotten through security. It never occured to me that they wouldn’t make it through.</p>
<p>I am firmly convinced that 99% of the security precautions are merely a pretense. For my last several flights, I quit worrying about the carryon liquids requirements. No one has checked for toothpaste, gels or any other liquids. My wife even forgot about a bottle of water and was not stopped. Of course, we are still taking off our shoes and putting them through the xrays. What a pile.</p>
<p>I have a little faith in the TSA protecting us, great faith that it’s designed to keep us in a state of fear, and the certainty that it’s a royal pain in the ass no matter how you slice it. </p>
<p>Tomorrow night we go to pick up D at the airport. I miss being able to meet people at the gate.</p>
<p>^ I know me too TheDad, especially not being able to watch them get on the airplane- when we took D to the airport for her 4 month stay in India, it felt like I was leaving her at the mall.
it was surreal.</p>
<p>Flying this summer, we were told applesauce was conisdered a liquid. However, we were allow to take the two small, individual sized containers through “this one time.”</p>
<p>Thousands Standing Around is at it again. I can say with ABSOLUTE certainty that TSA does absolutely nothing for aviation security, that it exists solely to spread fear, and I know from experience that it’s a royal pain in the ass.</p>
<p>Someone disband this disgusting, unamerican, out of control agency. Stat.</p>
<p>omg, for a moment, I sounded like I was on flyertalk…</p>
<p>I really don’t understand the 3.4-oz. restriction. What’s to prevent me from bringing several 3.4-oz containers of a Bad Liquid and combining them once I’m on board? Or of traveling with several people who will do the same? It’s a royal pain in the @$$, and it doesn’t do a thing to keep us safer.</p>
<p>I got nailed once for carrying Nutella (didn’t want choco goo in the suitcase) - they are pretty serious about things like that. I told the security guard to take it home and share it with her family rather than waste it (it obviously wasn’t an explosive or anything!)</p>
<p>I was at a trade show in Florida recently and received a bunch of dog shampoo samples. Threw them in my tote which I carried on and completely forgot about them until I was unpacking back at the shop in Connecticut. They were under 3 oz each, but not in my ziplock of forbidden fruit …err liquids. No one noticed. No one cared.</p>
<p>Just a little off topic- For stocking stuffers I picked up a pack of Ziploc bags that are labeled TSA approved for travel. Maybe you could put squishable fruit in one of them. Or take the jam out of the container and make it bag-squeeze jam!</p>
<p>I asked one TSA guy once how they defined liquid, and he said if it will stand up or otherwise keep its shape outside of the container then it’s a solid. If not it’s a liquid.</p>
<p>“If you can pour it, pump it, squeeze it, spread it, smear it, spray it or spill it, then it’s considered a liquid or gel,” said TSA’s Seattle spokesman Dwayne Baird.</p>
<p>Now I am really confused. But if you cover it with a pie crust it is ok?</p>
<p>While I am grateful that we have security measures, it appears that the measures do nothing but inconvenience the common traveller. We have seen the lax TSA measures as well and even more disturbing is that these measures/TSA seem to vary from airport to airport. I would like to feel that there is at least some level of consistent security at All airports whether they are large international airports or local regional airports. It simply does not exist. And, the luggage issue is of great concern; when we picked our student up at our local regional airport, I cannot begin to explain how many pieces of luggage were piled up at baggage claim. Obviously, these bags were put on a different plane than the passengers. It is very concerning that TSA seems to pick and choose with regards to safety. Again, I am grateful that we have some type of security system in place, but I think it still has a long way to go. Good luck to travellers that are trying to carry “grandma’s jelly”–guess you just don’t know until you actually step up to security if you can indeed carry it on the plane with you and unfortunately, if you can’t, you just have to discard it!</p>
<p>Notre Dame AL, I agree about the luggage issue. Last Feb, our S came from SF to JFK on a particular American Airlines flight. He had checked in extremely early, and American Airlines, in its infinite wisdom, decided that his checked luggage should precede him by several hours, on an earlier flight. So not only did the luggage not accompany him – which I thought was a huge no-no – but we wound up waiting for his luggage to arrive on the carousel for an hour, only to be shown by the Powers-That-Be that his luggage was all locked up in the “unclaimed baggage” room, since it had been sitting there for hours. Annoying, yes, but also very unsafe, IMHO.</p>