Food in Hand Luggage: Cheese, Sausage and Baby Food in 2026
4 min read
A wedge of hard cheese from your holiday sails through security. The tub of cream cheese beside it goes in the bin before the scanner. Both are food in hand luggage, both look equally harmless, and the ingredient list has nothing to do with it. Consistency decides.
That last point is the one almost nobody puts up front, and honestly it's the most useful fact here if you're flying with a small child. The European Commission lists medication and baby food as the two standing exemptions from the 100 ml rule. No form, no special permission.
Cheese in hand luggage: solid yes, spreadable no
The test is simpler than most articles make it sound. Can you slice it and does it hold its shape? Solid food, no quantity limit. Does it spread or scoop? Liquid.
That isn't anyone's interpretation either. The German Bundespolizei names spreadable cheese and spreadable sausage word for word as examples of liquid-like products, right beside toothpaste and shaving foam. A block of Gouda is fine. A 200 gram tub of herb quark isn't.
One practical note for anyone taking cheese home as a gift. Vacuum-sealed cheese keeps roughly four weeks unrefrigerated and up to six chilled, as long as the film stays intact, according to haltbarkeitsinfo.de. A hot car at the other end is still its enemy.
30L Kühltasche Groß, Faltbare Isolierte Kühlbox als Kühlrucksack
30L Kühltasche Groß, Faltbare Isolierte Kühlbox als Kühlrucksack
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Sausage in hand luggage: yes, but security is not customs
Salami, prosciutto, sliced cold cuts, dried chorizo. All solid, all fine, no limit. Liver pâté in a tub falls under the same 100 ml ceiling as the cream cheese.
Here's the part that actually costs people money. German customs bans meat and dairy brought in from non-EU countries, for animal disease control reasons. So your vacuum-packed salami clears the scanner at departure without a blink and still gets taken off you on arrival from outside the EU. Two authorities, two separate questions.
Baby food on a plane: yes, and no quantity limit
Formula, purée, bottles, water for mixing. Whatever your child needs during the journey is allowed. The Bundespolizei counts dietary special food explicitly among the exemptions.
Two conditions still apply: the child has to be travelling too, which in practice usually means under three, and the amount has to match the length of the trip. There's normally an extra check as well, a visual inspection and sometimes a swab of the container. Two minutes, and not a bad sign.
Kühltasche 15L kompakt, 14 Stunden Kühlleistung, für unterwegs
Pack solid items loose, decant anything creamy into a small container or leave it at home, and bring baby food without a second thought. Remember that three-way split and food in hand luggage stops being a guessing game at any German security lane, CT scanner or not.
Kühltasche 15L kompakt, 14 Stunden Kühlleistung, für unterwegs
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I take food in hand luggage?
Yes. Solid food travels in any quantity, while anything spreadable or liquid has to stay under 100 ml per container. Food in hand luggage is allowed as long as you sort by consistency, not by ingredient.
Can I take cheese in hand luggage?
Yes. Sliceable cheese such as Gouda or Parmesan counts as solid food, with no quantity limit. Spreadable cheese, cream cheese and quark are treated as liquids, so they travel only in containers of 100 ml or less.
Does soft cheese count as a liquid?
Only if it spreads or scoops. A firm Camembert holds its shape when cut, so it goes through as solid food. Consistency decides, not the word on the label. Borderline cases are settled by the officer at the lane.
Is baby food exempt from the 100 ml rule?
Yes. Milk, purée and drinks for a child travelling with you are allowed in the quantity the trip requires. A doctor's note isn't required, though an extra check at the security lane is fairly standard.
Does the 100 ml rule still apply in 2026?
At most German lanes, yes. Frankfurt, Berlin Brandenburg and Munich now run CT scanners at many lanes, which allow up to 2 litres loose. The rule hasn't been scrapped nationally, it's just been loosened in places.
