Getting Through Airport Security with Gifts and Food

Millions of people will be traveling during this holiday season. Many of them will be traveling by air. Some of those people will be bringing with them gifts and food for family and friends.  So what is the easiest way to get through airport security with gifts and food items?

The United States Transportation Security Administration (TSA) offers a few tips on traveling with food or gifts on its website. www.tsa.gov. Often people will be carrying with them gifts which they have already wrapped. TSA does not prohibit wrapped gifts.  However, the security officers may unwrap the gift if it sets off an alarm or looks suspicious.  If you are traveling with gifts, leave them unwrapped and bring with you separately wrapping paper, ribbons, bows etc. which you can use to wrap the present after you reach your destination.  It's a simple tip but it saves time and trouble.

Many people like to bring food items either as gifts or to use in preparing holiday dinners at their destination.  The TSA has compiled a list of such items which it suggests should be placed in your checked bag, shipped ahead of time or left at home if in excess of the permitted 3.4 ounces.  These include cranberry sauce, cheese dips, jams, jellies and gift baskets containing such items.

Happy Holidays!

Are Organic Foods Really Better for You?

We all have seen the growth of the organics food section at the supermarket. Each day it seems like a new product is added to the shelves, particularly in the produce section.  For the most part, those products cost more--and in some cases, considerably more--than the non-organic variety of the same fruit or vegetable.  Most shoppers who buy the organic product justify the additional cost because of the belief that organic means healthier.  In other words, people believe that the organic product is better for you than its non-organic cousin.  A new study reported on by ABC News this morning suggests otherwise and people may just be wasting their money.

In a report on Good Morning America, it was revealed that as a result of a study conducted by Stanford University, it was concluded that organic foods were no more nutritious than the same non-organic food.  In addition, the study also showed that the chances of bacterial contamination of the foods are virtually the same, with some difference with regard to antibiotic resistant germs.

In an article reported by Lauran Neergaard for the Associated Press, she quotes Dr. Dena Bravata, a senior research affiliate at Stanford as saying that when it comes down to questions of individual health, "there isn't much difference" between organic and non-organic foods.

Of course, as with any food product, it is always a matter of taste.  But it appears from this study that organic foods are no more nutritious and only slightly safer from contamination than the same non-organic food. So, keep that in mind as you are shopping and maybe you will want pass by that organic aisle.

For more information on health and food related issues, including a yummy recipe for blueberry cobbler, see other blog, www.notjustaboomer.blogspot.com.