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Twice in the last six months, when I went through the TSA checkpoint at San Jose airport, the screening agents specifically checked that I didn't have any food in my bags. The first time, I asked the agent about it and he said that there was a new rule as of March(?) 2018 prohibiting any food from being brought through a security checkpoint - including (but not limited to) dry food and processed food like cookies, nuts, granola bars, or so on. The thing is, other people I talk to in other parts of the country have never heard of this rule, I can't find any documentation about it online, and when I flew from another airport in the northeast, they didn't mention anything about food.

So... is there actually a TSA rule against taking food through security? Or if not a general rule, is there something going on that's specific to San Jose?

If I'd only encountered it once, I could dismiss it as a fluke, but I've been told about this twice, from two different agents, several months apart, which makes it harder to dismiss.

choster
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David Z
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2 Answers2

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The TSA "Can I Bring?" tool, in general, says that food is allowed. There are a number of foods that are not allowed, but these are mainly due to the LAG (Liquid, Aerosol, Gel) regulations and thus limited to 100ml.

I fly out of SJC on average about once every 4-6 weeks, and I have never been asked about food at any point, and I always travel with some food in my bag (a few granola bars at a minimum), so it's something that I would remember being asked. I've also never heard it at any other airport, nor have I had any friends/work colleges/etc mention it to me.

SJC airport does frequently use dogs for security (all passengers are made walk past a dog, and then generally get "pre-check like" checking such as going through metal detectors rather than millimeter wave scanners). Whilst it is possible that the food question might have been related to the use of a dog, I've still never been asked it (even when they are using a dog).

UPDATE: Just went through TSA at EWR airport. They asked for food to be taken out of all bags (just like they do for laptops/etc). I asked the staff and they said it's a new policy as they can't always see it clearly. I took a zip-lock bag of biscuits out, but left a number of granola bags in my bags and they didn't say anything about them.

Doc
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Recently the TSA has been asking for food to be taken out of carry-on bags like electronic devices, and liquids. I mainly travel with prepackaged granola bars or cliff bars. I pulled them out and there wasn't any problems.

gamma_sponge
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