Food services provided to passengers aboard are provided by Airlines and their catering partners. While the food quality is checked and maintained as per the guidelines of Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI), every single meal may not be checked thoroughly to ensure the absence of foreign materials in it.

Recently, a passenger aboard an Air India, Bengaluru-US flight, was faced with the ordeal of finding a metallic blade present in his food. After reporting the incident to the crew and taking to social platform ‘X’ to speak up about the incident, the netizen posted a picture of the meal.

The incident invited the attention of FSSAI who inspected TajSATs, the official caterer of Tata’s Airline subsidiaries, and its food preparation facility. A thorough investigation and inspection of the premises revealed that the blade came from one of the vegetable choppers that were installed there. The blade allegedly detached from the machine and got stuck in a vegetable piece.

The food regulator directed installation of a ‘X-Ray’ machine to detect any presence of metal or foreign substance in the food. It further ordered that vegetables be chopped manually till the machine is installed.

The Airport Health Officer at Kempegowda International Airport, Bangalore also inspected the catering services of other airlines. FSSAI has asked all airlines to improve the quality of food served to the passengers in light of repeated complaints regarding food quality.

Following this incident, corrective measures are being implemented to enhance the food quality and services. A notice suggesting improvement has also been served to prevent such instances from occurring in the future.

FSSAI’s Airline Food Compliance Mechanism

In January 2024, following an incident of a worm being found wriggling in the food platter of a passenger on board an Indigo flight, the FSSAI issued a press release directing Airlines to comply with the food safety protocols. It requires the Airlines to comply with the Food Safety and Standard Act of 2006 as well as the advisory issued for labelling and packaging requirements.

FSSAI requires flight kitchen operators and in-flight food-service providers to also comply with FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020. A surveillance drive was conducted by FSSAI in furtherance of this to inspect the supply chain of food served to the passengers on board.

FSSAI’s Airline Food Grievance Redressal

As a measure of grievance redressal, FSSAI has provided for the ‘Food Safety Connect’ app, wherein, consumers and passengers can lodge complaints and grievances about food quality. The app is a countermeasure against low food quality and other related grievances.

The FSSAI and Airline authorities are making active efforts to ensure high-grade food and quality for passengers.

For any queries, reach out to FSSAI at 1800112100, or download the Food Safety Connect App from the Play Store or App Store to lodge a formal grievance.

Watch this video by Jaagruk Bharat and learn how how to raise a complaint for food Contamination to FSSAI.

To know more about Airlines and their grievance redressal, read more about the AirSewa initiative by DGCA here on Jaagruk Bharat’s official website.