Multiple Sanitation Issues Discovered In Denver-Based Operation

Airline food may have just lost it's little remaining appeal. US Food and Drug Administration inspectors at LSG SkyChefs, a Denver-based division of LSG Lufthansa Service Holding AG, reported finding live and dead cockroaches "too numerous to count" in the kitchen and around food preparation areas in a recent visit. The findings were made public this week.

The inspectors say they also found evidence of Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium noted for causing Listeriosis, a serious illness which may include muscle pain, nausea and convulsions. SkyChefs spokeswoman Beth Van Dyne says those samples came from around a drain, and nobody eating the company's food has reported contracting the illness.

SkyChefs delivers about 35-thousand meals a day to its client airlines. The company was downgraded from "approved" to "provisional" status, but allowed to remain in operation. Van Dyne says none of the company's customers has cancelled any orders.

She says the company has made personnel changes, and tells Food Poison Journal that the company has made restoring its "approved" status a top priority. A re-inspection could happen as soon as the first week in January.

FMI: www.lsgskychefs.com