After traces of a dangerous bacteria was found in their caterers kitchen Virgin has suspended their inflight hot meals for customers safety.
Well, only on the Los Angeles to Sydney route – Gate Gourmet, based at LA international airport, has found traces of listeria in their kitchen.
For the uninformed, listeria can be particularly dangerous for pregnant women, causing complications like miscarriages and stillbirths. According to the Federal Government, around 1600 people become ill from listeria each year.
Gate Gourmet at LAX also caters for Delta Airlines, who are still getting cheese, fruit platters and wraps from a different part of the LAX facility, and have replaced their hot meals with different ones from a Gate Gourmet in California.
According to the ABC, “Delta spokeswoman Catherine Sirna said Tuesday the airline temporarily changed caterers so Gate Gourmet can be more aggressive in improving food safety.”
American Airlines was yet another airline effected by the bacteria – and stopped serving hot meals from Gate Gourmet two weeks ago.
However, Gate Gourmet spokeswomen Catherine Nugent said listeria wasn’t found on food-contact surfaces. She also said the LAX kitchen met local and US food-safety regulations after the company launched a cleaning program.
For now, Virgin Australia is handing out food vouchers so travellers can gorge themselves before the flight whilst catering gets back on track.
