Commercial Fixed Wing
Flight Attendant Current
Situational Awareness
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Company Policy; Procedure; Human Factors
I used an infrared thermometer to measure the food and storage temperatures on this flight. I brought this thermometer with me due to the fact that we have no refrigeration chillers on many of our aircraft and much our food feels warm to the touch when we board the aircraft. Many times this food is served much later in the flight.The actual temperature of the food (salmon; chicken and dim sum) on this flight ranged from 77.6F for the dim sum to 81.9F for the chicken. These readings are clearly well into the 'Danger Zone;' which as defined by the FDA; ranges from 40F-140F. According to their guidelines; food in this range should not be left out of refrigeration over 2 hours or no more than 1 hour if the temperature is over 90F. In addition; all food should be stored at or below 40F. The temperature in the carts; which had food stored in them; was 79.2F when I boarded and 83.3F in the ovens where the meals were boarded.Over an hour after the food was boarded and after showing the purser; cockpit and gate agent my readings; which were now even higher; a supervisor came on board. After seeing the temperature readings; she purchased food from a nearby restaurant for the entire first class cabin and the other meals were removed. The meals would have been stored well over two hours at a very unsafe temperature by the time we would have served them. This is a regular practice; with many of our meals being stored unchilled for hours prior to serving them.
Air carrier Flight Attendant reports using an infrared thermometer to measure food temperatures brought on board by catering. All of the food is in the high seventies or low eighties and the aircraft is not equipped with chillers.