PSA: TSA Now Has Rules for Spices and Powders on International Flights
The next time you return to the United States from another country, you should throw away all those spices and powders that you bought in your checked baggage instead of trying to take them with you.
I am a big fan of local spices when I travel as souvenirs. Our closets are crammed with things like interesting salt I found in France or random spices I collected in Mexico and brought back in unmarked plastic bags. Starting June 30th, it will be a little more difficult to get all of this back.
Then comes an enhanced security measure that requires pilots to remove from their bag any powders in excess of 12 ounces from their bag as they pass through the TSA checkpoint. The rule applies to everything from the fancy sales you purchase to dry shampoo or baby powder. This rule has been in effect for domestic flights since last summer, but now also applies to international ones. It also asks other countries to enforce the rules on their flights to the United States.
TSA will take another look at your powder. If he cannot definitively determine what kind of powder it is, he confiscates it from the security service.
A good rule of thumb is to just throw a container of protein powder and the like in your checked baggage and avoid the hassle. While you might think your powder is obviously X, you will undoubtedly get a security agent who thinks differently.
As with most of the new rules, you should also expect your fellow travelers to not find out that this is the rule and are going to slow down the checkpoint by a few months. If you have an international trip in the works, you can give yourself a few extra minutes to go through a security check in case you find yourself behind some non-Lifehacker readers who didn’t get the memo.