I think it could, but the police dogs that are used to search objects normally use aggressive alerts (scratching) opposed to a passive alerts (sitting or barking) that is commonly used at airports.
The dog handler could think that the dog just wanted the food if the dog lead him to your food box. Most have lost trust in their dog from witnessing false alerts. Its just a game to the dogs. Some of what I've said has been stated by Barry in previous posts.
