TSA Defends Confiscation Of Mass. Woman's Cupcake (VIDEO)

PEABODY, Mass. -- The federal Transportation Security Administration is defending its decision to confiscate a frosted cupcake from a Massachusetts woman flying from Las Vegas.

The TSA says in a blog comment posted Monday the cupcake was packed in a jar filled with icing, which is considered a gel under a policy designed to secure travelers from terrorists seeking to evade detection by using explosives made of plastics, liquids or gels.

Peabody (PEE'-buh-dee) resident Rebecca Hains was barred from taking her cupcake onto a plane last month when a TSA agent said icing in the jar exceeded amounts of gels allowed in carry-on luggage. Hains has called that "terrible logic."

The TSA says travelers can take cakes, pies and cupcakes through security checkpoints but should expect they might get additional screening.

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Comments

[nuclearkid]

11:14 AM on 01/16/2012

From cupcakes to insulin whats next? Confiscating babys because they could be made of explosives.

[BrettG88]

03:34 PM on 01/15/2012

Excuse me ma'am. We need to confiscate this cupcake... FOR CONSUMPTION!

[shakylegs]

02:40 AM on 01/15/2012

I love this article because it generated many zany comments. It provided relief from watching political debates or reading about political debates.

[Godweiser]

10:47 AM on 01/13/2012

I suppose the TSA is the ultimate "Small matters for small minds" government agency. It's to be expected from a Bush-era boondoggle. It was a hastily-implemented idea more for show than effectiveness, but now they're dug in and here to stay, much like the DEA.

[beckymonster]

12:38 AM on 01/13/2012

I hope my macarones don't suffer when I bring them back from Paris :(

[Godweiser]

10:42 AM on 01/13/2012

Just hope that Cleetus Bob Rayjack, TSA Unterofficer, isn't feeling peckish and a mite hungry.

[shakylegs]

02:48 AM on 01/15/2012

TSA Officer to passenger: "Please step aside Ms. Monster, I want to examine your macarones."

[belinda poltrino]

04:40 PM on 01/12/2012

Wow...talk about power outta whack! This is what happens when those wee cops get a hold of some some power; they take it to the enth degree and do not use common sense! Really....? Over a cupcake?

[Godweiser]

10:42 AM on 01/13/2012

Probably because they're hiring functional illiterates that have authority for the first time in their lives.

[shakylegs]

02:24 AM on 01/15/2012

You give them too much credit. How about "unfunctional illiterates."

[2question]

08:49 PM on 01/11/2012

Ok... no offense, TSA, but you seem a little defensive about this baked goods screening policy. Just admit you have a weakness for home-made yummy cupcakes and let it go. LAWL!

[alybaba]

02:32 PM on 01/11/2012

I have been reading all these posts, This is the fiunniest story in a long time. Your post are hilarious,
and the TSA is the funniest of all.
With them conviscating old grandma's diapers and baby formula etc etc.
The problem is they don't hire any one with any intwelligence, just robots, without common sense.

[RefugeeinNorway]

12:08 PM on 01/11/2012

In other news, convicted shoe bomber Richard Reid has admitted he used his shoes as explosive devices because he couldn't strike a match on icing.

[MiddletownHal]

11:17 AM on 01/11/2012

This is a non-story being pushed by Liberals! Patriotic scientists have long known of the destructive power of icing. Added to gasoline, kerosene or any explosive material, the icing acts like a magnifier making certain sugar crystals have an explosive power 100 x's normal. Sugar kills! Also & too, there was way too much butter in this cupcake. Had the bakers used margarine, which is more patriotic then butter (it's so French!) the icing would have been allowed on the plane. This couple were clearly a terror threat!

[Greg Uchrin]

02:19 PM on 01/11/2012

Just to be clear--margarine was invented by the French :D

[DevonTexas]

12:19 PM on 01/12/2012

LOL.

[mollynova]

10:16 AM on 01/11/2012

I've said this before: Use dogs! They can sniff out anything. The most invasive they may be is a nose to your crotch. Okay, better a dog's nose than some TSA agent getting up close and personal.

[Godweiser]

10:43 AM on 01/13/2012

Sometimes, the TSA will decline to use the dog and will simply deploy the panty-sniffing-pervert.

[mollynova]

12:46 PM on 01/13/2012

That explains so much...

[nuclearkid]

11:03 AM on 01/16/2012

They tryed that before, It didn't turn out well they couldn't find the on/off switch

[Rob Cypher]

09:10 AM on 01/11/2012

They should've made her eat it off the plane to prove whether or not it was explosive.

[NormalGuy1]

01:59 AM on 01/11/2012

The tsa needs to train their agents to exercise discretion and not execute checklists. That doesn't make us safer. We might as well use robots.

[John Hedtke]

11:25 AM on 01/11/2012

Robots would do a better job. The level of inconsistency even at a given TSA station is preposterous. They're all for show, in any case, so who cares?

[Godweiser]

10:45 AM on 01/13/2012

They didn't bother training them in the first place, except for what is necessary to create the appearance of security. If they wanted real security, they'd do something akin to what the Israelis have. That, of course, would require real training and paying actual salaries, as opposed to the jobs for the minimally educated program that we have right now.

[yappnmutt]

11:20 PM on 01/10/2012

i wonder if the tsa knows they have the best routine of any living comedian.

[karen1acworth]

10:25 PM on 01/10/2012

why was the cupcake in a jar?

[AngelaQuattrano]

11:23 PM on 01/10/2012

That is how they sell that brand.