Travelers hoping to bring peanut butter aboard their next flight may want to pay attention to an easily overlooked TSA regulation: The popular spread is treated as a liquid and is therefore subject to the same 3.4-ounce restriction as other liquids, gels and aerosols carried through airport security, Fox News reports.
The Transportation Security Administration recently reiterated the rule in a post on X, making clear that peanut butter falls under its restrictions for carry-on luggage.
“Peanut butter is a liquid… we said what we said… this time with receipts,” the agency wrote.
To bolster its point, the TSA shared a screenshot of a Google AI Overview explaining why peanut butter can be classified as a liquid.
Under the agency’s rules, passengers may carry liquids, gels and aerosols through security only in containers holding 3.4 ounces or less, with the containers required to fit inside a single quart-sized bag.
Passengers who want to travel with a larger container of peanut butter can still do so, but it must be placed in checked baggage rather than carried through the security checkpoint.
Gary Leff, a Texas-based travel industry expert who writes the “View From the Wing” blog, told Fox News Digital that peanut butter’s physical consistency is the reason it is covered by the TSA’s liquids restrictions.
“You can’t bring peanut butter, [as] the TSA considers that to be a liquid because it conforms to the shape of its container rather than retaining its shape on its own,” Leff said.
Despite the peanut butter restriction, Leff noted that passengers are permitted to bring a wide variety of other foods through security checkpoints.
“There are more things you can bring through security than you might even realize,” Leff said.
Leff recommended that passengers either eat before arriving at the airport or pack foods that can legally pass through security, noting that travelers often face limited choices and higher prices once they reach the terminal.
“Wherever you go that’s not the airport is going to have better food at the same price,” Leff said.
Fox News Digital contacted the TSA seeking additional comment on the policy.
The classification of peanut butter as a liquid has prompted plenty of discussion online, where travelers have questioned the logic of treating the thick spread the same way as more conventional liquids.
“I would invite TSA to drink a pint of peanut butter, then,” one Reddit user joked.
Another commenter offered travelers a straightforward way of avoiding the issue altogether.
“So make your sandwich first,” the commenter said.
The peanut butter discussion is not the first time a TSA social media post has generated debate among travelers. Fox News Digital previously reported on another unusual suggestion from the agency concerning what passengers can do while waiting at airports.
In July, the TSA told travelers that bringing a hammock to the airport could be an option during an extended layover, writing on social media, “Nobody said you couldn’t bring a hammock to the airport.”
The agency cautioned, however, that passengers should check the policies of the particular airport before attempting to set one up, since regulations governing where hammocks may be used differ among airports.
That advice also produced sharply different reactions online.
Some travelers argued that hammocks could become an annoyance or obstruction in already crowded terminals, while others welcomed the suggestion as a potentially comfortable way to endure a lengthy airport wait.
{Matzav.com}
