How much baby food is too much to carry on?

I really, honestly, do not envy people flying with children. As if their children's mid-air temper tantrums are not exhausting enough, getting through security--taking off your infants' shoes while simultaneously removing your laptop and chasing your toddler who rushed through the metal detector with his teletubby in hand--is probably enough to make you want to stay home at all costs.

Now, I hear that parents are also being harassed about the amount of baby food they bring on board. The TSA rule says you may carry on baby food and liquids in "reasonable quantities for the duration of your itinerary." The definition of reasonable quantities, of course, varies.

This NY Times article talks about parents who carry on more baby food than necessary in the winter time because flights get delayed, and they don't want to be stuck with a hungry baby and no food. For example, for a two and a half hour flight, a couple wanted to carry on five or six 2-ounce jars of Gerber's baby food and 20 ounces of Similac baby formula in two sealed 8-ounce and two sealed 2-ounce plastic bottles just "to be safe."

TSA said that for that much baby food, they would need to bring a doctor's note. Um, what exactly should the note say? "This is one hungry baby! TSA, have mercy?"

Filed under: North America, Airlines, Airports