In Flight Dining Menu: Chicken Cordon Bleu with Fecal Matter?

June 30th, 2010. By LucyC

An interesting item on the wire this week—airline food—sorry—airline meals—(yes, there is a difference, as one (meals) may not necessarily involve the other (food)) are a possible health threat. Well! You could have bowled me over with a feather! Seriously? How can that be when the airlines aren’t serving food anymore? 

Oh wait—that’s in coach. Meals—and I use the term loosely—are still served in first class on most major airlines. And if you’re flying Trans-Atlantic—or international long haul—no matter where you’re sitting. Great. Then you can possibly enjoy food poisoning and jet lag together. That’s always fun. You spend the first three days of your trip realizing that water really does go down the drain in the opposite direction in the Southern hemisphere… 

Apparently, reports obtained by USA Today via the Freedom of Information Act, state that some of the kitchens used to prepare the meals are not clean, employ food handlers that practice poor personal hygiene (I don’t even want to go there), and the food may not be stored at correct temperatures. 

And, of course, it gets worse. Some kitchens ‘were littered with dead cockroaches, flies, and rodent feces’ CBS News reported, which presumably are included in the airline meals at no extra charge to passengers. Unusual these days, to get something for free. And, at least one kitchen tested positive for Listeria.  

The three caterers named in the report—Flying Food Group, LSG Sky Chefs, and Gourmet—who combined produce more than 100 million meals each year—provide meals to (are you strapped in?) Delta, American, United, US Airways and Continental. Well, that about covers all the major airlines. 

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been dutifully strapped into my Lilliputian sized economy fare seat—aisle if I can get it—and watched the flight attendant fawn over the half a dozen or so first class passengers prior to take off. While I’m trying to figure out the logistics required to keep  blood flowing to my extremities for the next four hours, the folks up in first class are having their coats hung up, fresh juice delivered in real glasses, and being asked to select their meal choices from a printed menu! Which features several healthy sounding meal choices. 

HAH! 

Now I know. Better off in the back of the bus after all! 

So I’m wondering—is it still safe to drink the coffee? And I’ve always wanted to know—where does the water come from?

Tags: Airline Food, Airlines, American, Continental, Delta, Flying Food Group, Gourmet, LSG Sky Chefs, United, US Airways

This was posted on Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 at 10:45 am and is filed under Food Illness . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.