Peanut Butter: TSA Considers It A Liquid, But Why?

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) explained on social media why you can't bring a jar of peanut butter with you on a flight. According to TSA, peanut butter is a liquid, not a solid.

Podcaster Patrick Neve attempted to take a jar of peanut butter through airport security. Neve tweeted that it was then confiscated.

"I tried to take peanut butter through airport security," he wrote in a tweet. "T.S.A.: ‘Sorry, no liquids, gels, or aerosols.' Me: 'I want you to tell me which of those things you think peanut butter is."

https://twitter.com/catholicpat/status/1636018253624639490?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1636018253624639490%7Ctwgr%5E91501c00541331017390e05277d9bbae17eaba3c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foodandwine.com%2Fembed%3Furl%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2Fcatholicpat2Fstatus2F1636018253624639490id%3Dmntl-sc-block_1-0-4-iframeoptions%3De303DdocId%3D7370284

We don't know who runs the TSA social media account, but they responded in a very light-hearted way. They explained why they consider peanut butter to be a liquid.

"You may not be nuts about it, but TSA considers your PB a liquid. In carry-on, it needs to be 3.4 oz. or less," the TSA wrote in the caption of an Instagram post. The post had an image of a jar of peanut butter with the words "liquid has no definite shape and takes a shape dictated by its container."

The post has over 6,000 likes and many Instagrammers took to the comments to question TSA’s argument.

"Was waiting for a comment on this. Has anyone at @tsa tried to drink peanut butter though? Would love to see how that goes because it is definitely not a liquid," a user commented under the post.

“What happens if I use a whole jar of PB on a sandwich and put it in a ziplock bag,” one commenter wrote. “If I freeze the peanut butter before my flight, can I bring it on board,” another comment said.

Some people responded to Neve’s tweet with their own TSA travel experience.

"So apparently my peanut butter wasn’t allowed past security but the 22-gauge IV insertion kits that were somehow at the bottom of my carry-on bag passed with flying colors," Blimi Marcus, a registered nurse, wrote on Twitter.

A TSA spokesperson, R. Carter Langston shared with the New York Times, "As we frequently seek to remind travelers: If you can spill it, spray it, spread it, pump it or pour it, then it’s subject to the 3.4-ounce limitation."