I just read this CNN Breaking News story about sewing needles found in four turkey sandwiches on separate Delta Airlines flights from Amsterdam to the United States. I find this scary as hell, don’t you? Just a couple of months ago I got an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of an airline catering company at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France. I saw first-hand all the preparation and safety measures that go into airline food. Some of the things I found interesting were:

  • They use handheld computers to record and trace every food item  so if there’s ever  a food alert, they can identify the source within five minutes. There are usually two alerts a month, with only one testing positive for food poisoning a year — this usually happens in the summer with red cheese. The catering company usually gets about three allegations of food poisoning per year.
  • By law the pilot and co-pilot have to have different ingredients in their food and that are not made in the same kitchen as the passengers and flight attendants.
  • The president of France and other heads of state have their meals made in the first-class kitchen. But the president of the United States has his own people make their food.

After this Delta Airlines incident, I think the flying public will now be apprehensive about eating airline food. I bet we will see more passengers bringing their own food onboard– I know I will be.

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