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I am on SCD/Paleo Diet. Last weekend I took a short trip to Florida. From all the articles/blogs I have read it stated that I should bring my own foods when traveling. So 2 days before I left, I baked, dehydrated and cooked "safe foods"! I made fruit leather, jerky, muffins and cookies (I thought I was set for a long weekend in Florida)! I got to the airport, got to security and they confiscated ALL of my food!!!! Boy was i mad and very upset ! They told me I could not have even water!!!! That I would have to purchase anything I wanted to take on the plane after the security check point. I told them that I had special medical needs and they just took my food and placed in the garbage!!!!
So does anyone here have advice? How does everyone else get thru security with there HEALTHY FOODS? I am worried I have a 12 day trip planned for Hawaii at the end of November and don't know how I will get passed security!
Thank you in advance for all your help! I dont know where I would be with out this site! I just LOVE it!
Happy and Health Life
Robin
Robin
i have travelled domestically and internationally carrying my own food in both my hand luggage and checked in luggage and not had any confiscated
(one trip domestically part of my checked in luggage, was a insulated material esky bag like you use for picnics, and i had some of my meals pre cooked with frozen ice bricks)
did they say why they confiscated it?
ie was it because the containers or the bags you had the food in were not allowed?
were those particular foods banned?
I have carried small containers with pre cooked chicken in them, no issues at all
When i travelled internationally, i had
a) a letter from my doctor stating that i had medical condition of the digestion system and had food intorences,
b) notation on my travel itinerary that special diet requests could not be guaranteed
I make sure the containers and plastic bags are a sizing that does not breach security guidelines
Gabes Ryan
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
Sorry your food got confiscated - that must have been extremely frustrating after you took the time and care to prepare it.
I travelled from Colorado to Norway and back over the summer, and brought my own food onboard since the distances were long. I had a letter from my PCP stating that I had food intolerances and that the airlines could not accommodate my needs, so I had to bring my own food along.
I used the letter both in the US and in Norway. The only time they gave me trouble was on a domestic flight in Norway. They said that my food should have been itemized in the letter, but they let it go when I explained I had to prepare different foods for each of my flights. Since I didn't know in advance what I would bring on domestic flights in Norway, listing them in the letter would have been very difficult and impractical.
Good luck with your trip - if you get a letter from your doctor, it should not be a problem.
Love,
Kari
"My mouth waters whenever I pass a bakery shop and sniff the aroma of fresh bread, but I am also grateful simply to be alive and sniffing." Dr. Bernstein
I believe a letter to the TSA and your airline is warranted. Having taking flights with giant, gleaming steel knitting needles that caused a flight attendant to exclaim - so glad they confiscated my nail clippers! - I believe that everyone's heart is in the right place, but the specifics get fuzzy.
You deserve to know what rule they were using, and how you may interact with that rule to eat/travel safely. (I did check the web site for the knitting rules... and though my husband believes I am entirely capable of it, I did not seize control of the plane via knitting.)
I'm so sorry this happened. I know I have brought food on airplanes in the past without a doctor's notice, so it could have been the container, or the quantity, or just the particular screeners' training and instructions.
I know that we have to buy water after going through security screening - but that's a different rule, as far as I understand it.
Hope your weekend recovered and you ate well and enjoyed your trip,
A copy of the letter should be sent to each of the airlines that you will be using on the trip, (preferably a week or two before departure), and you should carry additional copies of the letter with you, to hand out as needed, during the trip.
Some of these threads might have are some additional tips that you might find useful:
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Thank you All for the GREAT advise. I guess I will be calling my Gastro for a letter!
Sara, I too am a knitter. I bring my needles all the time. I have small ones and large ones they never said anything or did anything about them.
All of my food was in zip lock bags, so I have no idea why they didn't let me take it! I really didnt have a good trip that weekend because it was VERY hard to eat my "safe foods" and I havent been doing it that long to know what I can or can not eat out.
Thats why if I cant bring some of my own foods I have no idea what to do. My husband said to get dry ice and mail it to the hotel? I am afraid of spoilage. This so fustrating. I am doing so good now that I really dont need or want to mess things up.
Thanks again to you All!!!! Like I said before....I LOVE THIS SITE!!!!
I'm so sorry that you had to endure such an injustice.
I have travelled on the airlines quite a bit and have found that the location of the airport makes a difference in how they enforce (or misinterpret) rules.
I just flew out of O'Hare yesterday with my usual carry-on food suitcase carrying many items similar to yours: muffins, waffles, tortillas, corn chips, corn flour, noodles, etc. They didn't even open up the suitcase to look at it. My lunch container contained 3 oz. containers of almond milk, lamb, a muffin and a packet of Justin's almond butter. It also wasn't opened for inspection. The only time I ever had food confiscated was when I travelled from Brazil with an apple in my pocket and when I forgot that ghee was semi-solid and it was in my carry-on.
I believe the agent was very mistaken. I would have asked for a supervisor and for them to show me in the TSA guidelines where it states that food cannot be brought onboard.
Food items are listed in the link "Special Items," then "Food and Beverages." It says nothing about prohibiting any of the items you brought with you.
What happened to you is unforgivable and could have ruined your vacation and set you back weeks by having to eat intolerant foods. Not to mention the resultant D. You should write the airlines so they can contact your airport TSA agents and set them straight.
Gloria
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.
Hi Robin, I have traveled domestically and internationally to Australia twice and have been able to bring my own foods. The letter certainly will be helpful, you should also have the foods in separate clear packages like a zip loc plastic bag and declare it to the inspector as you arrive. Have the foods out and put them into a bin for the X-ray. Overall by declaring what you are carrying and making it easy to identify should make it much easier to go through security. Present the letter with the food and hopefully in the future you will be able to carry it with you.
Wow, this thread surfaced just at the right time for me. In early Nov., taking my first airplane trip since diagnosis, and have been really worked up about it. Flying from the East coast to LA and back, so cannot go without food, and not willing to risk buying in the airport. Paid extra for preferential seating on Southwest; will let you know how that works. Definitely getting a letter from my GI doc in advance.
Thank you so much for the Link! But now I am really mad because NO where does it say you can not travel with food.
Maybe it has to do with the airport, I flew out of JFK here in NY. I dont know and have no clue as to why they did what they did.
I am really upset because it was a very important weekend for me. My younger son graduated with his Master degree and I was really not doing so well in the bathroom department, its embarrassing to say but I had to wear a diaper to see my son graduate.
Now I am armed and going to be dangerous if anyone tries to take my food! I just made a copy of that TSA sheet, made a phone call to the Continental Airlines and i see my GI on Tuesday for a letter!!! I do hope all of this works. My husband and I use to do a lot of traveling before I became sick. The last 6 trips we took I was very sick and swore I would never go anywhere again. Two years ago my husband and I took a trip to Vegas (it was my birthday and family and friends were going too), I spent the first day fine, the next 3 in bed and then wound up in the hospital because I was dehydrated. My husband had to get earlier flights home because I was so sick. It was the worst trip I had ever had and I felt so bad for my husband, our family and friends.
So I am praying that this vacation to Hawaii will be a great one!
Thank you again,
With Lots of Health and Happiness
Robin
Robin,
I travel to Hawaii (the big island) to visit my sister, and I recall having a fairly easy time with the diet if I stick to native Hawaiian foods. The traditional pork (and lots of other meat), white rice with every meal, seafood, blue sweet potatoes (yum!), poi (I'm not a fan), and plenty of fresh produce at the right times of the year. Hopefully you can be there during avocado, mango, or papaya season. Regular groceries are at least 20% more expensive than the mainland (so it may be worth packing your own snack bars), but farmers markets are cheap. The main thing to worry about is soy sauce, since much of the food has japanese origins. I'm bummed I didn't try the mochi last time. Here it's always ice cream wrapped in sweet rice flour, but there they wrap fruit and other non-dairy items.
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! They told me I could not have even water!!!! That I would have to purchase anything I wanted to take on the plane after the security check point. I told them that I had special medical needs and they just took my food and placed in the garbage!!!!
