Posts
Have you ever had food souvenirs taken away from you at the airport by customs or the TSA?
After having customs officers confiscate several items over the years (including meat-flavored instant noodles from Singapore which contained no meat whatsoever), I'm really careful about what I bring back from vacation because I honestly can't bear the thought of someone taking away my food.
Kris and I just got back from our annual visit to Vancouver (and an Alaskan cruise... more on that later) and the one thing I always bring home is a jar of Kraft Smooth Light Peanut Butter. Kraft peanut butter just tastes way better than anything I can get stateside (and who can resist those cute little bears on the label?) so my parents always remember to buy me a jar before I leave.
During the voyage home, this precious jar of peanut butter always stays with me in my carry-on bag and in the past, I've never had a problem with getting it on the flight. But this was before security was significantly beefed up at the Vancouver airport (courtesy of a recent bomb scare). The recently implemented TSA screening process includes a full body scan and a complete search of carry-on baggage, during which every item is removed from your bag and examined closely. Everything was fine until the TSA agent pulled out my jar of peanut butter and said I couldn't take it on the plane because it exceeded 100 ml! Since when is peanut butter considered a liquid?! Normally, I try to maintain my composure when in public (and especially when dealing with airport security) but when someone tries to come between me and my food, all bets are off! I uttered a string of profanities before I could stop myself. Kris said I was lucky I didn't get tasered.
But this story has a happy ending. Rather than watch his wife get locked up and detained over a jar of peanut butter, Kris suggested we go back to the check-in counter and pay an extra $30 for an additional checked bag (containing my Kraft peanut butter, lovingly wrapped in layers of newspaper). $30 for a jar of peanut butter - money well spent in my opinion!
What would you have done?
p.s. Now that I'm thinking rationally again, I guess I could have easily purchased another jar of Kraft peanut butter at one of the many online Canadian grocers (ie. Canada Only, Canada Grocer, Canadian Favourites, Canadian Delicacies ) where you can also find Coffee Crisp, Old Dutch potato chips, Shreddies, and St. Hubert poutine sauce.
