It may come as no surprise that deep in the heart of pasta country, officials at the airport in Genoa, Italy, are offering a special culinary dispensation to anyone traveling with the city’s famed pesto sauce.
Genoa’s Cristforo Colombo Airport has been waiving the 100-milliter limit on liquids as long as it’s Genovese pesto as part of the “Il pesto è buono” campaign, which launched June 1. Thus far, more than 500 jars of the stuff have gone through the airport.
Già 500 barattoli di pesto decollati nei bagagli a mano dei passeggeri in partenza da Genova! ➡️ https://t.co/3Y6fjFeQPl #ilpestoèbuono http://pic.twitter.com/PN3YWIV1Ec
— GenovAeroporto (@GenovAeroporto) June 20, 2017
In order to fly with pesto jars of up to 500g, travelers simply have to make a donation to a charity called Flying Angels, which helps cover the cost to fly ill children abroad to receive treatment. They’ll then receive a special sticker to stick on the jar. Once the pesto has been scanned by an X-ray machine, passengers can carry it on board.
Officials say the plan was inspired by mountains of confiscated sauce jars piling up at security checkpoints.
Of course, if you’re flying into another country other than Italy, you’ll have to check the local customs rules on what kinds of foods you can bring with you. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection rules, for example, canned goods like prepared sauces that don’t contain meat products are generally admissible. Pesto is made from basil, pine nuts, olive oil, and garlic, so it would likely pass muster.
[h/t BBC]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist