What you need to know about airport security rules and checkpoints
Here are TSA rules that you need to know and what to expect at each airport checkpoint.
- Ellen Pompeo was detained by TSA for an hour due to organic sunflower seeds in her carry-on bag.
- TSA suspected a chemical on the packaging of the sunflower seeds, prompting a bomb squad investigation.
- TSA recommends separating food and powders from carry-on bags to avoid X-ray obstruction.
Actor Ellen Pompeo revealed in an interview with T+L that she was detained by the Transportation Security Administration in March after officers flagged something suspicious on her bag of organic sunflower seeds.
“I had a bag of sunflower seeds, like organic sunflower seeds from Erewhon, so they were probably the most expensive sunflower seeds money can buy. They literally held me for an hour, and they brought the bomb squad in,” she told the magazine. “I was like, what is happening? Is this a joke? They said it was most likely a chemical on the packaging of these super expensive, fancy, organic, clean sunflower seeds.”
Pompeo is hardly alone in having TSA delays caused by food. Anyone who has ever traveled with ground coffee or other containters of relatively small food items can probably attest that issues like this are common.
The TSA recommends that travelers “separate items from carry-on bags such as foods, powders, and any materials that can clutter bags and obstruct clear images on the X-ray machine.”
One TSA agent recently told USA TODAY that some items frequently set off alarm bells, even though they’re obviously harmless. If their chemical composition is too similar to a dangerous substance, the security officers proceed with caution and perform further tests.
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com.
