Moldy grapes: normal coach food?
 

Hi AAers,

As a UA 1K, I've only taken a handful of flights on AA in the past year, and only recently had my first international meal service in Y.

The frozen and reheated meals weren't all that bad, but one thing caught my eye...

http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/3...grapesmold.jpg
(Photo here: http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/3...grapesmold.jpg)

Have you guys seen this before? I saw a previous post from 2009 about moldy cucumber, but this seems out of the ordinary?

Sometimes perishable food does get spoiled. Since AA does not grow their own grapes, but just gets them from a 3rd party I am sure its not a common occurrence.

Wow, you got moldy grapes in AA Y?

I only ever got moldy grapes in UA (domestic) F! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...due-fruit.html :)

I saw only 1 grape, as in singular.

As much as one can complain about the international Y meal service (and I've experienced it often), I've never had anything be unfit for consumption. I wouldn't think much about it.

Why do you say it's mold? Looks more like Botrytis to me, which is fungal.

Too technical? :D

Grapes or Gripes?

Seems like one is past Best By - I'd be more concerned that someone had pinched one of my 7 grapes. Unless you had eaten that one.

I never knew that mold, of any type, wasn't fungal. Well, well, well, who says you can't learn some science on flyertalk...oh, wait...nevermind.

Yes, this is typical of food on AA, and only AA. To save money, AA uses takeout from local homeless food banks while UA uses airline specific catering companies. :rolleyes:

You know, wine made from grapes attacked by botrytis late in the season are used in very expensive wines (look up trockbeerenauslese). That may have been intended for First Class.:p

The one disgusting grape is certainly over the top, but to be fair, the others are well past their prime as well. Far too much brown and not enough bright green. Sadly, I routinely see grapes like this in the grocery produce section at Ralph's in LA (owned by Kroger) and other large grocery companies. When I see an entire display of grapes like these at my local store, I often seek out the manager to show them (we've been acquainted for years). Increasingly, I get the feeling that the store's attitude is buyer beware even though grapes like these are usually priced at $3.99/lb in the winter and a dollar a pound most of the year.

Yes, the grapes served the OP should have been culled by someone along the way, like the produce buyer at the caterer or by whomever washed and portioned them at the caterer or by the caterer's QC inspector. Someone should have caught them and everyone of those people along the line failed (or saw them and didn't care - after all, throwing away grapes is throwing away money to them if they don't reject the grapes at the beginning, as they should have done).

I got blueberry like that in the cold breakfast once. I carefully set it aside on the tray for later disposal, but I guess it fell off onto the floor at some point. Apparently it found its way under the seat in front where my laptop bag was.

Later, when walking through the terminal, I made a small scene when I jumped back in a panic and tried to literally shove the laptop bag away from me. This failed comically because I still had the shoulder strap on.

The reason is that the crushed mushy blueberry against my black nylon bag looked like a giant terrifying exotic bug.

But seriously, I've had less trouble with the food on AA over the years than I have in restaurants.

Shhhhhhhhhhh! That's confidential info. :mad:

Look close enough and you'll find it's actually a plump, wholesome raisin...:D

I got moldy grapes last year on a flight FRA-ORD in Y. I sent in a complaint and they sent me 5K miles as an apology.