Metal detectors are used widely for security screening at venues like airports, concerts, sporting events, and government buildings. But can they also detect the snacks people bring for enjoyment? Here's a closer look at how metal detectors interact with various snack foods.
Crunchy Metal Packaging
Metal detectors will almost definitely register aluminum foil snack wrappers or plastic bags with metallic lining, such as chip bags, cookie sleeves, and snack cracker pouches. The foiled exterior provides an easy path for detection.
Internal Bits
Some snacks contain crumbs of metal-rich ingredients that could potentially set off a detector. Examples include trail mixes with dried fruit seeds high in iron, granola containing calcium minerals, and cereals fortified with certain vitamins. However, alarms are less predictable as metal bits are encapsulated.
Chocolate & Candy
Plain chocolate bars, hard candies, jelly beans and other confections made primarily of non-metal ingredients are unlikely to be noticed by themselves. The treat would need to be surrounded by metallic casing or foil to warrant scrutiny.
Fresh Fruit
Nature's snacks like apples, bananas and oranges contain little risk of detection thanks to their lack of added metals and packaging. Metal residues from farming are typically minute.
Mitigating Alarms
Security staff may adjust detector sensitivities depending on event size. Personnel also typically swipe for snacks in bags first before implementing extra checks. Overall minor detections rarely cause more than a secondary screen.
So while some processed or hybrid snacks could potentially alert a very sensitive metal detector, the chance of detection alone rarely amounts to an outright prohibition. It usually just leads to double checking the offending item.
