Air China gives out-of-date food to passengers
Oct 7, 2013, 11:42 pm
#1
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Air China gives out-of-date food to passengers
So I read in the news that Air China has been caught issuing out-of-date food to their passengers. But is this really such a big deal? Or is it only a storm in a teacup? After all, airline food these days are barely edible anyway (for cattle class). Yes, food safety is of paramount importance, but I'm not sure if the out-of-date label is the cause.
Air China is of course denying they made a mistake:
http://www.scmp.com/news/china-insid...ef-pancake-row
Air China, a leading carrier in the mainland, has denied accusations that it fed passengers on a domestic flight out-of-date beef pancakes, making at least a dozen sick.
In a telephone interview with SCMP.com on Tuesday, an Air China spokeswoman said an investigation had revealed that incorrect packaging was to blame for the “misunderstanding.” She said Air China routinely discards leftover and out-of-date food and would never recyle them for reuse.
The news has made national headlines in China after a passenger on a Sunday flight from Xinjiang’s Hami city to Beijing shared her unfortunate dining experience on popular social media site Weibo.
A photo of the packaged food she posted shows an expiration date of October 2, four days before her flight date.
“Look twice when you eat any food from Air China in the future,” she warned in her post that later caught the attention of reporters.
The passenger, identified by her surname as Wang, later told Chinese media that one toddler vomited soon after eating the pancake and at least 20 adults suffered sickness and had to use the toilet.
Wang said she was upset that even after passengers pointed out the problem to flight attendants, they refused to warn everyone of the "expired" food.
One flight attendant flatly denied there was a problem, and told passengers the food provider had used wrong labels. But Wang, unconvinced, demanded an aplogy and filed a complaint immediately after she landed.
In an official statement issued by the carrier early Tuesday morning, Air China said an internal investigation showed that workers had mistakenly packaged the pancakes with bags used for food offered in domestic flights of shorter distances. Food offered on the Xinjiang-Beijing route is different and lasts much longer, it said.
So, would you consider getting out-of-date food a serious matter or not?
Air China is of course denying they made a mistake:
http://www.scmp.com/news/china-insid...ef-pancake-row
Air China, a leading carrier in the mainland, has denied accusations that it fed passengers on a domestic flight out-of-date beef pancakes, making at least a dozen sick.
In a telephone interview with SCMP.com on Tuesday, an Air China spokeswoman said an investigation had revealed that incorrect packaging was to blame for the “misunderstanding.” She said Air China routinely discards leftover and out-of-date food and would never recyle them for reuse.
The news has made national headlines in China after a passenger on a Sunday flight from Xinjiang’s Hami city to Beijing shared her unfortunate dining experience on popular social media site Weibo.
A photo of the packaged food she posted shows an expiration date of October 2, four days before her flight date.
“Look twice when you eat any food from Air China in the future,” she warned in her post that later caught the attention of reporters.
The passenger, identified by her surname as Wang, later told Chinese media that one toddler vomited soon after eating the pancake and at least 20 adults suffered sickness and had to use the toilet.
Wang said she was upset that even after passengers pointed out the problem to flight attendants, they refused to warn everyone of the "expired" food.
One flight attendant flatly denied there was a problem, and told passengers the food provider had used wrong labels. But Wang, unconvinced, demanded an aplogy and filed a complaint immediately after she landed.
In an official statement issued by the carrier early Tuesday morning, Air China said an internal investigation showed that workers had mistakenly packaged the pancakes with bags used for food offered in domestic flights of shorter distances. Food offered on the Xinjiang-Beijing route is different and lasts much longer, it said.
So, would you consider getting out-of-date food a serious matter or not?
Last edited by WindowSeat123; Oct 9, 2013 at 10:33 am
Oct 8, 2013, 12:28 am
#2
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That said, the airline shouldn't be serving it.
Oct 8, 2013, 9:14 am
#3
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As long as it doesn't affect higher ranking CCP members travelling with them, nobody at mighty CA will care the slightest bit. But then I would expect they are catered for differently from other passengers.
Oct 8, 2013, 1:27 pm
#6
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I'm not very convinced about the mislabeled packing expaination. How can a FA be so sure that it's mislabeled and not truly expired food?
In either case food poisoning is always going to be a risk and I don't think that four days make any difference. I won't see it as a big deal but it would have been nice if Air China apologized rather than trying to come up with an excuse.
In either case food poisoning is always going to be a risk and I don't think that four days make any difference. I won't see it as a big deal but it would have been nice if Air China apologized rather than trying to come up with an excuse.
Oct 8, 2013, 10:01 pm
#7
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I'm not very convinced about the mislabeled packing expaination. How can a FA be so sure that it's mislabeled and not truly expired food?
In either case food poisoning is always going to be a risk and I don't think that four days make any difference. I won't see it as a big deal but it would have been nice if Air China apologized rather than trying to come up with an excuse.
In either case food poisoning is always going to be a risk and I don't think that four days make any difference. I won't see it as a big deal but it would have been nice if Air China apologized rather than trying to come up with an excuse.
Oct 9, 2013, 12:02 am
#8
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Oct 9, 2013, 10:31 am
#10
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Air China gives out-of-date food to passengers
I'd bet it's the production date not the expiry date printed on the package. Nowadays everyone with a weibo account is a crusader for justice and the Chinese dream :-)
Oct 9, 2013, 8:22 pm
#12
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Oct 10, 2013, 4:04 pm
#13
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The photo clearly shows (ok, not very clearly but if you squint) two sets of dates: 13/09/29 followed by 13/10/02 on the bottom. I'd leave it to you to figure out which one is possibly the Production date and which the Best-By or Expiry.It's definitely past the Best-By date by Oct. 04. Given the short window of consumption it's a perishable item, not a simple cake or cookie etc. which could be perfectly edible even past the Best-By or Expiry dates.
EDIT: Looks like the Chinese writing actually states it's some sort of pastry. It probably has some form of cream filler that entails a short shelf life. It's not as bad as if it was meat or poultry but still pretty bad on CA...
Last edited by payam81; Oct 10, 2013 at 8:04 pm
Oct 11, 2013, 3:54 pm
#14
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I am not a bit surprised by this after being served a stale sandwich on board Air China flight from Beijing to Kunming earlier this year.