FOOD SAFETY ISSUES IN AIRLINE CATERING SECTOR

Food safety issue in the airline catering sector is an all encompassing issue that involves the food preparation from siting of the industry, to storage and handling by crew members. When food served on board is not produced and handled under strict hygienic conditions and following food safety rules, incidents of foodborne illnesses can result. Cases of foodborne disease outbreaks aboard commercial aircraft from 1947 to 2007 were analysed in this book with the focus on the vehicle of infection, causative agent and factors responsible for the outbreaks. The analysis of these outbreaks revealed that microbial infection is not directly related to the type of food served on board, but to weaknesses and failures in the system such as lack of compliance with basic food handling and general hygiene principles and also because HACCP principles were not in place when many of the outbreaks occurred, although a few outbreaks still occurred following the introduction of HACCP principles in this sector. The strict adherence to food safety as highlighted in this book will help prevent the reoccurrence of airline foodborne diseases outbreaks, otherwise an outbreak is inevitable.