Best Wedding Destinations - In-Flight Meals Could Be Dangerous

What they learned was pretty unappetizing. USA Today recently requested the last two years of FDA inspection reports on the two largest companies that prepare meals to be served in flight. It could also be dangerous; eating airline food can be worse than boring.

And anyone with a compromised immune system, the elderly, especially for small children, even fatal illnesses, a bacterium that can cause serious, environmental samples from the kitchen floor were found to have Listeria monocytogenes. A violation of safe food-handling practices, they also saw employees handling food with bare hands. And flies, ants, " live roaches, inspectors found roach carcasses "too numerous to count, at one facility.

Including beneath a pallet on which food was stored, rodent feces and rodent nesting materials found in several areas, in May 2009 an FDA inspection at the company's plant reported a mouse.

This company prepares more than 405 million meals per year for more than 300 airlines all over the world.

The violations were corrected, and that when the company received notice from the FDA, a company spokesman said that the conditions identified were out of compliance with corporate food safety standards. And another inspection at that time, with a 30 day time period to correct all violations, and placed the company on provisional status, the FDA's warning letter reviewed these and other violations.

This violation was a repeat of the same failure in 2008. Meats were not cooked to required temperatures. Even if they were in violation of federal food safety guidelines, the director of this facility stated that he would prepare food according to any specifications from airlines. And to insist on freezing to assure destruction of parasites, another airline food service company's facility was cited for failure to verify that all food is from confirmed safe sources.

The company also received a warning letter from the FDA. The foods were not disposed of, when this was pointed out to staff. Were stored at temperatures too high to prevent bacterial growth, and vegetables, pastrami, chicken, filet mignon, including shrimp, an inspector found that perishable items, at an inspection of the company's plant in August.

These shelf-stable foods run a lower risk of contamination. Travelers are now offered prepackaged snacks, especially on shorter flights. Airlines have moved away from serving full meals with perishable food on most flights, to reduce costs. Said that the number of citations to airline food preparers had actually declined in the last few years, an FDA spokesperson, ira Allen.

One public health expert has pointed out that the liability for a passenger who suffers food poisoning rests with the airline. Endangering the health of airline passengers, airline food suppliers continue to ignore or violate federal food safety rules, yet as these recent inspections show.

You should consult with an experienced food poisoning attorney, and you believe that the cause was contaminated food served in flight, if you or a loved one has suffered an episode of serious food poisoning.