Food safety management in Airline Catering

 

Ensuring food safety in airline catering is a multifaceted endeavor that requires meticulous attention to detail. By prioritizing hygiene, temperature control, proper handling procedures, and regulatory compliance, airlines can uphold the trust and confidence of passengers while safeguarding their health and well-being during air travel.

 

April 23, 2024
 
Share this story
 
 
Subscribe to our newsletter
 

To receive the latest breaking news and stories in Dubai, the UAE and the GCC straight to your inbox.

 
Food safety management in Airline Catering
 

In airline catering, where thousands of meals are prepared daily to serve passengers across the globe, ensuring food safety is paramount. Air passengers are at special risk with no medical facilities close to treating them.

The unique challenges posed by the airline industry, including varying storage conditions, extended shelf-life requirements, and high-altitude serving environments, make maintaining food safety standards a complex yet essential task.

Airline food is consumed with a significant delay after its production and far away from its production facility. So it is risky 

Why is it important for food to be safe on planes?
Food safety is an important issue globally, especially in airline catering. Millions of people fall ill around the globe yearly and many die because of eating unsafe food.  

Airline caterers need to have systems that ensure that the food they produce is safe to eat. They achieve this by employing so-called food safety management systems.

What is the role of Food safety management systems?
These management systems are based on the codex alimentarius, a collection of internationally recognized standards relating to food safety 

Food safety management systems aim at preventing any food contamination with biological, chemical, or physical agents. Since such contamination may occur at any point in the food chain

One of the measures to ensure that food items are safe to consume is based on the principles of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points(HACCP )

The HACCP system is based on 7 principles grounded in critical control points. These are the points in a production process where potential hazards might be controlled or eliminated 

Establishing a HACCP concept by visualizing the flow of goods on a flowchart and by assessing potential hazards that may affect the safety of the food items.

How to ensure the safety of food in airlines?

  • Keep prep areas clean at all times before and after meal preparation.
  • Ensure all meats are cooked to the proper internal temperature 
  • Avoid cross-contamination by proper storage of food
  • wash your hands and change your gloves before doing anything else.
  • Be sure to use reputable food suppliers who follow stringent guidelines.

This needs comprehensive system audits of the overall food safety chains. Any non-compliance with food safety measures can have severe implications for the airline caterer on various levels either in case of a food safety-related incident or as a contractual punishment in case of non-compliance discovered in an audit.

In conclusion, ensuring food safety in airline catering is a multifaceted endeavor that requires meticulous attention to detail. By prioritizing hygiene, temperature control, proper handling procedures, and regulatory compliance, airlines can uphold the trust and confidence of passengers while safeguarding their health and well-being during air travel.

About the author:
Dr. Bassant Alaa is the Food safety consultant and Senior Infection control specialist at Andalusia Egypt.