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EO 005.04EO 005.04Flight Feeding Flight Feeding

TP 13-14

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• Flight Feeding Manual

• CFAO 65.8

• CFAO 36.14

• CFP 269, CHAP 1, 2, 4 & 5

• Guide to Hygiene and Sanitation in Aviation

ReferencesReferences

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• Flight meals

• Flight refreshment

• Flight meal incident

• Flight meal deficiency

• Originating base

• Pre-flight period

• In-flight period

DefinitionsDefinitions

Flight FeediFlight Feeding ng • FLIGHT MEALS: • The total of all food commodities required to

provide:• a - 1 Continental Breakfast• b - 1 Full Breakfast• c - 1 Cold Lunch• d - 1 Hot Lunch (Crew or Passenger)• e - 1 Boeing Light Meal• f - 1 Special Meal

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Flight Feeding Flight Feeding

• FLIGHT REFRESHMENT:

• The total of all food commodities required to provide either:

• one between meal supplement;

• one between meal beverage, with or without one or two food items or one special refreshment

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Flight Feeding Flight Feeding • FLIGHT MEAL INCIDENT: Any

situation involving a contaminated food or beverage item which occurs on board an aircraft is deemed to have accident potential and therefore is reportable.

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Flight FeedingFlight Feeding • FLIGHT MEAL DEFICIENCY: Any situation

involving a food item that is deficient in quantity and quality but safe for consumption.

• ORIGINATING BASE: Refers to the military unit that provided the contaminated food or beverage items from military or civilian sources.

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Flight Feeding Flight Feeding

• PRE-FLIGHT PERIOD: Any time within 48 hours of flight departure.

• INFLIGHT PERIOD: Any time while on board the aircraft including taxi in and out.

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Assist aircrew and passengers to adjust to demand of flying by:

– Providing nutrition;– Relieving boredom;– Counteracting dehydration; and– Preventing loss of efficiency.

NOTE: Between meals supplements are also made available to personnel involved in aircraft control duties and radar terminal control units.

Purpose of Flight FeedingPurpose of Flight Feeding

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• prepare from raw materials;

• cook;

• portion;

• assemble;

• chill; and

• if required before service, reheat on board aircraft.

Concept of OperationConcept of Operation

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The following principles shall apply in the provision of

all flight meals and shall be taken into consideration

when planning food services support to air operations:• strict hygienic and sanitary conditions;• preparation of meals/food shall not commence

earlier than 12 hours prior to pick up; and• prepared foods/meals are held at 5°C or below but

above freezing.

Fundamental PracticesFundamental Practices

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Fundamental Practices (cont’d)Fundamental Practices (cont’d)

• When food/meal are held under refrigerated conditions, holding periods are not exceeded 12 hours from time to pick-up from the kitchen to the time of consumption; and

• A separate meal shall be provided for the aircraft commander by a different facility, personnel and using different foodstuffs.

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• Bacteriological control of meals;

• Routine planned food sampling is necessary; and

• The frequency, regularity and choice of foods to be sampled will be influenced by the laboratory

facilities available.

Quality Control Food SupplyQuality Control Food Supply

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• The sanitation standards specified in the Sanitation Code, Flight Feeding Manual and Hygiene & Sanitation in Aviation shall be complied with;

• inspections shall be carried out monthly; and• The flight feeding kitchen manager is

responsible for the cleanliness of the operation and shall monitor the operation on a daily basis.

Sanitation StandardsSanitation Standards

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• The establishments in which food is prepared fall basically into two categories:

- Those that produce food served in airport restaurants, cafeterias and snack bars; and

- Flight catering kitchens or in flight catering premises.

Categories of CateriCategories of Cateringng

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• The following precautions must be followed to ensure that control and the high standard reached in the production unit are maintained:

• a. food should be stored in a clean dry area;• b. no overstocking;• c. meals should be planned well in advance;• d. stock rotation;

Airport cateringAirport catering

Airport catering cont’dAirport catering cont’d• e. when food is to be regenerated, frozen packs

should be put straight into a convection oven or steamer;

• f. meals should be served as quickly as possible;• g. frozen food once regenerated, may deteriorate at

the same time or even faster that freshly cooked foods; and

• h. any food prepared in excess of consumer requirements must not be reheated more than once.

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Flight Catering Kitchens or In-Flight Flight Catering Kitchens or In-Flight KitchenKitchen

Aircraft meals are supplied:

• Under direct control of the airline;

• Staffed and controlled by a catering concessionaire but supervised by the airline; and

• Owned by catering concessionaire and only partially supervised by the airline.

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Hotels in which crews and passengers are

accommodated are another important source of food

supplies.

In fact, a difficulty in investigating alleged foodborne

illness occurring in flight or after arrival is to decide

from which source of food was supplied.

Hotel RestaurantsHotel Restaurants

Vending MachinesVending Machines

Every machine should carry precise

instructions for cleaning and sterilizing

procedures. The frequency of cleaning will

depend on the type of goods sold but

beverage vending machines should be

cleaned daily, and those selling goods, at least

every 48 hours. Samples of food should be

taken at intervals to check bacteriological

quality.

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• so designed and constructed that they are easy to clean;

• made of substances with which food can not be contaminated;

• kept in hygienic surroundings, • kept at the correct temperature; and• there should be adequate and efficient

stock rotation based on the shelf life of products.

Vending Machines cont’dVending Machines cont’d

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• Persons who either are suffering from a disease capable of being transmitted by food or water or are carriers of such a disease SHOULD NOT BE EMPLOYED in food preparation or food handling;

• Food handlers should be kept under regular

• Surveillance;

• Pre-employment medical is a MUST;

• Responsibility for food hygiene rests with top

management;

• All food handlers should receive training in food hygiene; and

• Food handlers should receive basic instruction in hygiene.

Food Handler TrainFood Handler Traininging

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• all perishable food shall be kept refrigerated (at below 4°C) at all times except during preparation;

• frozen food which has thawed shall be used immediately or discarded. Previously frozen food shall not be refrozen;

• a cook-chill-apportioning-chill sequence will be established for the preparation of all meals;

• contamination will be reduced by ensuring that food is covered and that food services personnel wear disposable gloves when portioning food’

Meal and Refreshment Meal and Refreshment PreparationPreparation

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• meats shall be trimmed of fat, skin and gristle;

• all fruits shall be washed;

• salad and sandwich fillings shall be finely diced;

• sandwich meats shall be shaved; and• baked items shall be prepared in-

house where possible.

Meal and Refreshment Meal and Refreshment Preparation cont’dPreparation cont’d

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• In order to prevent the introduction of pathogenic organisms, or the proliferation of those already present, temperature control is vital. The following temperatures shall be maintained:– aboard aircrafts cold meals must be

stored below 5°C (only on the plane);– aboard an aircraft hot meals must be held

above 63°C;

Food PreparationFood Preparation

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– deep freeze not exceeding -18°C; and– long term storage -26°C to -29°C.– meals that are to be served hot are

transferred into ovens in the aircraft for rapid reheating;

– Meals should be transported to aircraft in closed containers and clean covered vehicles as close to departure time as practicable BUT NOT MORE THAN 1 HOUR BEFORE FLIGHT DEPARTURE.

Food Preparation cont’dFood Preparation cont’d

Food Preparation cont’dFood Preparation cont’d

A potential hazard is the possible transference

of bacteria from raw to cooked foods either by

human or equipment contacts. Raw foods

Should be handled by different personnel in a

different section and with different equipment

from that used for cooked foods. After

handling all preparation tables, utensils,

equipment and hands should be washed.

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Flight meal shall be sealed, time and date stamped, and initialed by the packer at the time of preparation.

Meal LabellingMeal Labelling

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• Flight meals shall be stored at temperature below 5°C but above freezing point. When insulated carriers or carton boxes are used to store and transport hot meals in the flight feeding kitchen, they shall be left OPEN during refrigeration to improve air circulation around the food and thus, shorten the cooling time.

Meal StorageMeal Storage

Meal Storage cont’dMeal Storage cont’d• When meals are supplied to in-transit flights

the aircraft must be on the ground before food is dispatched from flight feeding kitchen. If the holding period (from preparation to consumption) of flight meals or refreshments exceeds 24 hours, a replacement issue is required. This 24 hours is the maximum holding period applies to prepare flight meals.

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Meal Storage cont’dMeal Storage cont’d• When a flight is cancelled or not activated

after flight meals or refreshments have been issued from the kitchen, these meals and refreshments shall be returned to the flight kitchen and discarded. This policy also applies to meals prepared and issued for search and rescue flights. If the flight meals and refreshments have not left the kitchen, salvage action is to be taken.

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When a flight is delayed after flight meals and refreshments have been issued from the kitchen the following procedures apply:

• the issued crew meals must be discarded and a replacement meal issued; and

• the issued passenger meals should be discarded and replacement meals issued.

Meal IssueMeal Issue

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However, when time does not permit for the preparation of a replacement meal, the meals may be returned to the kitchen and reissued providing the following criteria are satisfied:• the holding period from preparation

does not exceed 24 hours. The maximum holding period (24 hours) applies to prepare flight meals that are stored

under ideal, refrigerated storage conditions;

Meal Issue cont’dMeal Issue cont’d

Meal Issue cont’dMeal Issue cont’d

• The seal of the meal/refreshment packaging is not broken; and

• The meals have retained a sufficiently low temperature throughout the initial attempted issue.

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It is the responsibility of Unit Food Services personnel to ensure that all perishable food items are packed separately with coolant (dry ice, cold packs) to ensure that the food will be maintained at 5°C or lower for at least 8 hours.

Food Handling in AircraftFood Handling in Aircraft

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They are filled with hot water for tea, coffee making, soup and fruit juices. Some use them as containers for drinking water. After each flight, they should be subjected to a rigidly enforced cleaning and sterilizing procedures.

Beverage FlasksBeverage Flasks

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Food for service to passengers is stored in the galley or pantry areas. The meals may consist of:

• cold food served on the trays previously laid out in flight catering;

• hot meals on short haul aircraft; or• hot meal on long haul aircraft, which should

be either frozen or chilled and reheated in a variety of ovens.

Food on AircraftFood on Aircraft

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The following types of aircraft ovens are

Commonly used:• mobile heat-retaining ovens that will keep

food hot to a maximum temperature of 85°C. They should not be used for heating frozen meals;

• conventional fixed ovens that will keep the food hot to a maximum of 85°C in 45 minutes. Another 15 minutes must be allowed for heating freezing food;

Food on Aircraft cont’dFood on Aircraft cont’d

Food on Aircraft cont’dFood on Aircraft cont’d

• fixed convection ovens that will reheat chilled food to a temperature of 85°C in 18-20 minutes. Another 5 minutes must be allowed for frozen foods; and

• microwave ovens that will thaw frozen foods in 35 seconds and heat the above temperature in a further 35 seconds.

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Food for the aircraft commander’s meal shall be prepared by different utensil and equipment and where possible a different facility.

Aircraft Commander’s MealAircraft Commander’s Meal

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The captain should be given a completely

different meal from that served to the co-pilot,

Prepared from food obtained from different

sources. The same principle must apply if they

eat in ground catering premises a few hours

before takeoff. Cabin crew are normally

supplied with special meals, or receive an

allowance to buy food on arrival.

Crew MealsCrew Meals

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1. DOUBLE OR RETURN CATERING:– The practice is increasing of supplying food from

the parent station for both outward and return flights. This is attractive because it’s economical. Only good for flights of fairly short duration, not more than 2 hrs; and

– Return catering is acceptable from an hygiene aspect only if meals to be served cold are held in flight at temperature below 5°C and hot meal held above 63°C.

New Types of Flight FeedingNew Types of Flight Feeding

New Types of Flight Feeding cont’dNew Types of Flight Feeding cont’d

2. SEAT BACK CATERING:– The meals, which consist invariably of a variety of

cold meats or meat pie and salad, are packed into two disposable plastic trays. Problems occurring are:

• outward flight passengers may tamper with and contaminate food for the return journey;

• the temperature of the food is not controlled; and

• often the flights are made to countries where the temperature is high, the situation then being ideal for bacterial growth.

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• After offloading from the aircraft, waste food should be brought back to flight catering ASAP. Offloading should commence ASAP after the aircraft lands, so that the galley can be cleaned before fresh equipment and food is loaded.– Food items shall not be consumed after the flight

terminates nor shall they be retained for the next days flight;

– All equipment and waste food should be brought to an unloading bay, which should be separate from the loading bay from which the clean equipment and aircraft meals are dispatched;

Aircraft Food WasteAircraft Food Waste

Aircraft Food Waste cont’dAircraft Food Waste cont’d

– All perishable food items not consumed during the flight leg for which it was intended shall be discarded immediately after the flight terminates;

– Waste food must not remain in flight catering. Disposal by whatever method should be rapid, safe and hygienically executed;

– NON-CANADIAN PRODUCE FROM INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS WILL BE INCINERATED AT THE POINT OF FIRST LANDING IN CANADA;

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Aircraft Food Waste cont’dAircraft Food Waste cont’d

– The stripping of meal trays can be done entirely by hand, all waste matter being placed in metal or plastic containers of various kinds. Manual stripping can be assisted by a conveyor-belt system on to which the contents of the meal trays are emptied, and as they travel along the belt, all re-usable items of equipment such as cutlery, crockery and glassware are removed;

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Aircraft Food Waste cont’dAircraft Food Waste cont’d

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– Containers must be thoroughly washed, which is most efficiently done in a container washing machine;

– All re-usable equipment and utensils should be separated and passed to the dishwashing section for either manual or mechanical cleaning;

– If waste food is stored while awaiting collection, it should be compacted mechanically in the bulks containers so that its volume is reduced considerably.

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Aircraft Food Waste cont’dAircraft Food Waste cont’d

– Another method of disposal is the automatic reduction of all waste to a pulp by a wet process system; and

– The swill storage area should be kept clean and facilities for washing the area should be provided, after being emptied, the bins should be washed and disinfected.

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In addition to the usual epidemiological precautions, if

any passenger or crew member becomes ill during a

flight or on arrival at an airport.

– To assist cabin crew to obtain the correct information, a questionnaire should be supplied with the aircraft documents; and

– It’s important that unconsumed portion of the suspected meal or three partly eaten meals should be returned under refrigeration.

Passenger IllnessPassenger Illness

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• Flight Meal Incident: – in any situation involving a contaminated food or

beverage item which occurs on board an aircraft, and that is deemed to have accident potential. Such incidents are to be reported IAW A-GA-135-001/AA-001, Chapter 15. When ever a food or beverage item is suspected of contamination because of its odour, appearance, flavour, texture or any other factor, the item shall be deemed to be “suspected as contaminated” and treated as a “flight meal incident”.

• Staffing Procedures: Page 5-2-2 (Para 6-15)

Flight Meal IncidentFlight Meal Incident

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All food premises should be inspected regularly and

frequently by health authority. The frequency of

inspection will depend on the operating standards

found in references. It will be increased when

conditions are unsatisfactory and decreased when

they are good. Detailed inspections, in which note is

made of all structural defects and faulty methods of

food preparation and handling techniques, should be

carried out on average at monthly intervals, with

revisits as necessary to see that recommendations

have been implemented.

InspectionInspection

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As a preventive medicine technician, you will spend a great deal of time conducting kitchen inspection. Flight feeding kitchens are the same except that the level of hygiene and sanitation must be much more stringent and there are some additional regulations that must be followed.

ConclusionConclusion

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