Earlier this year I blogged about the problems discovered in LSG Sky Chefs’ flight kitchen at Denver International Airport. Unfortunately, it appears the problem is more widespread:
Many meals served to passengers on major airlines are prepared in unsanitary and unsafe conditions that could lead to illness…Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspectors have cited numerous catering facilities that prepare airline food for suspected health and sanitation violations following inspections of their kitchens this year and last…
That’s not at all comforting. Nor are these details:
The FDA reports say many facilities store food at improper temperatures, use unclean equipment and employ workers who practice poor hygiene. At some, there were cockroaches, flies, mice and other signs of inadequate pest control.
"In spite of best efforts by the FDA and industry, the situation with in-flight catered foods is disturbing, getting worse and now poses a real risk of illness and injury to tens of thousands of airline passengers on a daily basis," says Roy Costa, a consultant and public health sanitarian.
We already knew airline meals are not healthy. Now we have to question whether they are sanitary or not.
I am certainly alarmed by this news and hope that this news story, which has been picked up by media outlets across the country and around the world, will spur the catering companies to quickly clean up their act. At the same time, this news isn’t grave enough to move me to start refusing airline meals when I fly.
But I will be examining my food a little closer…
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