SFO is one of the better TSA operations. The employees of the TSA presence aren't directly employees of DHS; they are employed by a contractor of the TSA. I've

SFO is one of the better TSA operations. The employees of the TSA presence aren't directly employees of DHS; they are employed by a contractor of the TSA. I've found them to be professional and efficient (granted that I have Global Entry). In fact, one of the guards let me keep my Chinese papaya soup with liquid (the papaya cavity was filled with a Chinese birds nest soup). She simply told me that technically she should confiscate my papaya, but that she was going to look the other way, and I left the checkpoint with decent airplane food.