Honey Shuts Down California Airport

 The suspicious material inside luggage that prompted the shutdown of the Bakersfield airport turns out to be five soft drink bottles filled with honey, authorities said.

Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said the bottles, inside a checked bag at Meadows Field, had tested positive for traces of an explosive.

Youngblood said investigators are trying to determine whether there was something in the honey or on the bag that caused security alarms to go off shortly before 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.

They have been questioning the bag's owner, 31-year-old Francisco Ramirez, a gardener from Milwaukee who said he flew to Bakersfield to spend Christmas with his sister.

The discovery of the suspicious material halted flights to and from the airport. Two security officers reported feeling ill after being exposed to the bottles.

This article originally appeared on KCRA.com.

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