Can I bring a PB&J on an airplane?

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johngross

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Anyone know if the TSA considers a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to be the weapon of choice for terrorists?

The wife and I will be going on a medium long flight with no food served, so I need to take along a snack. PB&J is the food of choice as it requires no refrigeration, heating, silverware, plates, or cleanup, and satisfies me for a spell.

So, anybody here get one past the security checkpoint? And please don't tell me I have to put it in my underwear :eek:

P.S.: This is a serious question.

John Gross
 
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Seriously, it would be contingent on the size of the sandwich. TSA rule is below:

Traveling with Food or Gifts | Transportation Security Administration

All said, if you are flying via an airport of any size there will be food purveyors after the TSA checkpoint. I suggest you save yourself some possible problems (and a sandwich in the trash) by buying something once you have gone through the TSA checkpoint. :)

Bon voyage.

Be safe.
 
Big D has your answer (see note at bottom of checklist). Buy a sandwich or something after the check point and you can carry it on board.
 
I have carried sandwiches many times on airplanes. It never occurred to me to wonder whether there was an issue with TSA. It is liquids you need to worry about.

Then again, I have never declared my sandwiches, either!
 
More than 3 oz.s of jelly will get your sandwich confiscated, if the TSA "officials" are paying close attention... Maybe just ask them to weigh or otherwise quantify it --- provide the volume, and the jelly's specific gravity, and let them work it out...
 
What about candy and wrapped granola/cereal bars?

Do those shops beyond checkpoints sell bottled water that is approved for boarding?

Obviously, I haven't flown in years. I try to avoid airports now.
 
If regulations like this aren't an example of "can't see the forest for the trees", then I don't know what is.
 
For long flights my food of choice is a 750ml bottle of tequila followed by a nice long nap in the plane!plane

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I left France with an apple and some snacks that I bought after the screening and took them on the plane with no problem. I ate the apple soon after getting in the air and the rest long before landing.

I got to Miami and the cute little beagle sat by my bags. Damn. More time after a long flight getting searched and explaining. I thought Snoopy was after the gum but was told that he wont sit for that. It's amazing how well these dogs know their jobs and even though I wasn't happy, Good boy!

Edit to explain that the lady with the dog asked me if I had fruit in there. After explaining that I did but had eaten it she told me that's what the dog hit on. If a beagle could smell residual apple I imagine that the bugs and disease could still be in my bag but that didn't concern her. It sure makes one wonder.
 
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We've never had a problem carrying sandwiches or, in my wife's case, salads (with less than 3 oz of salad dressing) onto the airplane. She's even gotten her plastic salad fork on -- kinda goes along with her crochete hooks and knitting needles. It all goes into her carry on. The one thing she likes to do is to bring an empty water bottle through security, then fill it from a drinking fountain on the other side. Completely legal.

I have one funny story, though. I had bought a Sears Craftsman 19.2V tool set for the Park Model in Mesa, AZ. She decided to bring the warrantee info home. Later, she thought it was dumb to have that in Minnesota, so re-packed it for the flight back to AZ the next trip. TSA had a fit with her carry-on, that trip back. Kept running it through the machine and finally decided to start going through everything. She kept asking what in the world are you looking for?!! They finally admitted that it looked like there was a Sawzall blade in there. She said are you nuts or crazy??? There is no way I have a Sawzall blade! Guess what was in the middle of the folded up tool kit warranty? A Sawzall blade!

Funny thing was that security in AZ missed it on the previous trip.
 
I guess this thread began with a legitimate query, to which I gave a flippant (if unfortunately, probably accurate reply).

Here's my recent experience with the TSA "officials" ---

Departing, Delta, Phoenix to eastern Ohio ---

"I'll need a 'firearms tag' , and I'll stick with the bag until it's cleared TSA screening."

"OK", sign here, &TC., and follow me..."

So, I followed the ticket agent to the backroom TSA inspection area, where the TSA "official", who was inspecting my bag only because it held a declared firearm, proceeded to conduct a complete and thorough swab of every little bit of my baggage, looking for "glycerin", "nitrates", and so forth. I interrupted his pointless work to ask, "Why are you ignoring my declared firearm, and inspecting the rest of my bag for explosives ???"

"Just standard procedure, Sir."

Five minutes later I got my life back, after a pointless search of my luggage for explosives, because I'd declared a gun...

Fast forward to return flight from Akron/Canton airport ---
middle aged female ticket agent insists on "inspecting" my declared firearm, to which I submit for fear of missing my flight while engaged in a pointless argument. She can't explain why Delta policy differs between Phoenix and Akron, freely admits that she has no expertise to examine a pistol, knows not what she's looking at, and doesn't understand company policy.

I offered to stand by while my checked bag clears TSA, but, after, a reasonable interval, there's no reply, I asked a passing TSA "official" if I needed to wait any longer... He came back after a few minutes, reporting that I was "good to go ..."


So, we're all being subjected to incoherent, disjunct, uncoordinated, stupidly arranged, ineffectual policies that are more likely to inconvenience legitimate travelers than to thwart murderous terrorists ....
 
I would think that a PB&J sandwich would pass TSA...BUT, there are better snacks to consume while in-flight..PB&J's can be a bit messy at home, let alone in the air..
I stick to packaged snacks, granola bars , Slim Jims and pretzel rods..:)
 
jkc said:
---
middle aged female ticket agent insists on "inspecting" my declared firearm, to which I submit for fear of missing my flight while engaged in a pointless argument. She can't explain why Delta policy differs between Phoenix and Akron, freely admits that she has no expertise to examine a pistol, knows not what she's looking at, and doesn't understand company policy.

....
Click to expand...

wanna have some fun? Next time, completely field strip your pistol inside your locked case. It's good for a chuckle when they want to "inspect" the parts. The confused look and, "can you verify it's unloaded?" is priceless.

I've gone through a couple dozen airports in the last year, I don't think any used the exact same checked firearm procedure. I've never had a real problem, just roll with it.

OP...your PB&J will be most welcome. There's nothing worse than somebody carrying a McDs bag onto a flight...the stench fills the cabin!
 
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If you want a way to get that PB & J on without question I can tell you that in my many years of experience of seeing inmates hide things including sandwiches and stuff bigger I know where you can put it. It's not in your underwear but somewhere, umm deeper.
On a serious note I agree with them being a bit messy unless you can put them in a ziplock bag or foil but I am willing to bet that foil will you get some TSA agents hands on your body quicker than a teenage boy with Taylor Swift on prom night. I would also go with granola bars or something similar.
 
If they ban peanut butter, it will be because of potential liability issues.

Back when we all grew up, nut allergies were all but unheard of. But in the last 2-3 decades, nut allergies have increased at amazing numbers, and nobody really knows why. Schools have had to ban peanut butter and all snacks/candy that contain nuts or even nut oils, as most of you likely know, because in a typical school there are a handful of kids allergic. Some of these allergies are mild, and the nuts need to be ingested, causing hives and a rash. But others are life threatening emergencies, anaphylactic shock like a bee sting needing epinephrine injections to stop it. The exposure might not require eating anything at all, just exposure to dust-like fragments from a peanut being crushed on a floor. Or the brown skin around one.
Keep in mind that just like bee stings, an allergic reaction can sometimes change from a mild to a life threatening reaction in consecutive exposures to the allergen. Nut allergies in kids are known to do this.
 
Last Feb. we flew to Ft. Lauderdale and my wife had a disposeable camara in the carry-on bag, but she had taken it out of the cardboard packageing. It sure looked like a pound of foil wraped C-5 to me. We did get some extra hands on security, but they were very nice!
 
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