Food in luggage

[katieandemismom]

We're flying in really late the night before Thanksgiving. I was going to do a Garden Grocer order, but we really only need some lunch meat, cheese, and hot dogs. Our flight is just over an hour. I thought I could put those few things in a soft cooler with some frozen peas to keep them cold. Has anyone ever done this? Do we need to do anything special to get through security? Would the frozen items clear carry-on security?

 

[DisK]

I may be wrong, but I thought I read online that pretty much all food items must be checked.

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

I brought cheesesticks once in a carryon, and that was allowed. Security had to look at them, as they couldn't tell what they were in the xray. I tried to bring a jar of peanut butter in a carryon once, but they threw it away. The person who did that seemed like they were really tired of people bringing stuff in carryons. So now I know.
I would suggest freezing the lunchmeat and hotdogs, and putting them in your checked luggage. They will be fine if they are frozen before you leave home.

 

[Dean]

I may be wrong, but I thought I read online that pretty much all food items must be checked.

The info I've seen would suggest that frozen food items should be OK if they aren't excluded otherwise like fruits and veggies in some situations. This includes frozen liquids in the carryon as long as they are not partially thawed during the checkin process. If they are, they fall under the liquids requirements for carryon items.

 

[Kidanifan08]

For a small order like that, I would probably pre-order using the resort grocery list or just buy when I get there. We transported a foot long beef log in our carry-on luggage once and got a thumbs up from our TSA agent.

 

[carlbarry]

Here is the link to the NTSC site with the list of prohibited food items for carry on:
http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/traveling-food-or-gifts
Meats and hard cheese won't be a problem. Creamy cheese will be banned.
I always bring food due to religious dietary restrictions, and put it in my checked bag. I freeze the food, put it in those aluminized bags along with freezer packs (not peas! The freezer packs stay frozen much longer!). I fly in from JFK, so the elapsed time between packing and unpacking is around 9 hours. I've never had a problem with spoilage.

 

[jo-jo]

Every trip, I bring food in checked bags. I bring everything frozen in a box which fits inside a carrier/cooler like you would use for a casserole. My list is precooked bacon, cheese (not cream cheese), butter, sausage (like pepperoni), and brown and serve sausage. In the cooler I put a package of cream cheese and a couple of frozen bottles of water (triple wrapped). I wrap the whole thing in my bathrobe. (Yes, my bathrobe travels with me)

I usually bring a jar of peanut butter, english muffins, box of crackers and whole wheat wraps.

At disney, we buy eggs, creamer and OJ. And we are good for breakfast for the week with a few snacks to spare

We fly out of Phila. Usually the water bottles are slightly melted at the most. Once I wrapped an ice cube and the edges were still sharp. Didn't seem melted at all. Of course there is always the chance, bags get lost and all that, but so far so good.


Just to add we fly SW, so no bag fees. If I had to pay 25 -35 dollars for a bag that was mostly food, I might forget the whole idea and just buy stuff at disney.

 

[katieandemismom]

I think I'll go with the checked baggage option. We're flying SW so we can take up to 8 bags (I'm thinking one with food will be good). I just can't see paying Garden Grocer's delivery fee for just a few things.

I've never frozen lunch meat or hot dogs before. I think I'll try it first just to make sure, but it sounds like the easiest option.

 

[carlbarry]

I think I'll go with the checked baggage option. We're flying SW so we can take up to 8 bags (I'm thinking one with food will be good). I just can't see paying Garden Grocer's delivery fee for just a few things.

I've never frozen lunch meat or hot dogs before. I think I'll try it first just to make sure, but it sounds like the easiest option.

Lunch meat and hot dogs will freeze with absolutely no problem. In fact, I have been eating a turkey breast that I froze two years ago, and it is fine. I eat frozen frankfurters, too. That is, after they thaw out LOL!

 

[Sur]

That list from TSA is odd. I know why not cologne, perfume (airline request) but jelly, peanut butter? For what it's worth, I had these and horizon milks in checked baggage and all went well. Super safely packed, though accessible.

 

[Sleepy425]

That list from TSA is odd. I know why not cologne, perfume (airline request) but jelly, peanut butter? For what it's worth, I had these and horizon milks in checked baggage and all went well. Super safely packed, though accessible.

The link was for carry on. You can pack it in checked baggage no problem.

In our checked baggage, We brought a carton of egg whites that we froze and put in a cooler with frozen water bottles and biscuits and cheese we had frozen. Our flight was delayed over 3 hours, and everything was still frozen when we got to Disney. We will be doing this again our next trip, as we are starting out in a studio for two nights and won't have groceries delivered until we move to a 2BR.

 

[Sur]

The link was for carry on. You can pack it in checked baggage no problem. In our checked baggage, We brought a carton of egg whites that we froze and put in a cooler with frozen water bottles and biscuits and cheese we had frozen. Our flight was delayed over 3 hours, and everything was still frozen when we got to Disney. We will be doing this again our next trip, as we are starting out in a studio for two nights and won't have groceries delivered until we move to a 2BR.

oh, ok, very good. I wondered.

 

[Dean]

That list from TSA is odd. I know why not cologne, perfume (airline request) but jelly, peanut butter? For what it's worth, I had these and horizon milks in checked baggage and all went well. Super safely packed, though accessible.

And it's just a list of examples, not really an inclusive list.

 

[jo-jo]

Lunch meat and hot dogs will freeze with absolutely no problem. In fact, I have been eating a turkey breast that I froze two years ago, and it is fine. I eat frozen frankfurters, too. That is, after they thaw out LOL!

We freeze hot dogs all the time. We find higher quality lunch meat freezes better than perhaps some store brands. We feel the store brands tend to have more water in them and when you thaw them, they become a drippy mess.

If you have time, might want to freeze a 1/4 lb of the brands you use and see how it works out.