Airline kitchens are known for their own food safety problems, but rarely do those ground-based issues result in a loss of food service in the air.

Delta Air Lines, however, made that connection by announcing that passengers on 200 flights this past weekend were not getting meal service because of a “food safety issue” at its Detroit flight kitchen.

The Detroit airline kitchen servicing Delta flights was subjected to a routine Food and Drug Administration inspection.  Delta said that during a recent inspection at Detroit Metro Airport (DTW), the airline learned of the food safety issue in the flight kitchen.

“Delta and its catering partner immediately shut down hot food production and subsequently  suspended all activity from the facility,” the airline said

Delta is making adjustments to restore meal service to its flights. Generally, airlines don’t run their own kitchens but contract for the service from one of the catering companies.

“Hot food and other onboard provisioning will be managed to other facilities, Delta said, adding that it will continue to take necessary precautions to ensure food safety.

Airline kitchens are a $9.6 billion business sector this year. Airline passengers consume more than one billion meals a year, and what is served on a flight is often decided almost a year before the passenger steps on board.

Before the pandemic, airline kitchens were coming in for negative reports about their food safety problems.

 Inspection reports for 91 flight kitchens operated by LSG, Gate Gourmet, and Flying Food Group were then revealed.

Files for 46 facilities showed that 27 had violations or objectionable practices.  At Minneapolis, FDA inspectors found live rodents with feces and nesting materials.   

At Dulles International near Washington D.C., Gate Gourmet was not hot enough to keep dishes like sea bass, pastrami, and cheese sandwiches. I

In San Diego, Gate Gourmet was cooking food according to airline specifications but not following food safety guidelines.

Roy Costa, a food safety expert and contributor to Food Safety News, said that the airlines–responsible for their passengers’ safety–have a severe supplier control problem.

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