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Airline catering companies exposed for poor hygiene |
 Catering companies supplying in-flight meals to some of the world’s biggest airlines have been accused of putting passengers at risk because of poor hygiene standards.
An investigation by inspectors for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at 91 airline food kitchens in America found meals being prepared alongside mice, ants, flies, cockroaches and bacteria. Employees were said to be preparing food with their bare hands, equipment was unclean, surfaces were contaminated with listeria and food was stored at inappropriately high temperatures.
The inspections focused on facilities used by in-flight catering giants Gate Gourmet, LSG Sky Chefs and Flying Food Group. Between them these companies supply Delta, American Airlines, United, US Airways and Continental Airlines in the US and provide over 100 million meals annually to those airlines plus other international airlines operating from airports across the Atlantic.
LSG Sky Chefs said it has “comprehensive and multilayered quality control standards in place to ensure our customers receive safe, healthy and high quality food”, while Gate Gourmet commented that the FDA’s findings were being taken “very seriously”.
The airlines cannot say for sure how often passengers become ill due to poorly prepared meals but all say they take hygiene extremely seriously.
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