In-Flight Meals Safe, Says Thai Airways
By Maya Salleh

Bandar Seri Begawan - As the bird flu disease is rapidly spreading across the region and even to South Asia, the Thai Airways International Public Company Limited yesterday tried to calm down fears over the health safety standards of its in-flight meals.

In a press statement, the Thai said it has tightened up health safety measures in inspecting the quality of chicken meat used for Thai's in-flight catering services. Thai has conducted food inspection and implemented analysis measures in its own food Laboratory at Thai's Catering Services Department.

Due to the mounting fear of the bird flu outbreak, it has introduced three more external food inspection laboratory inspection points namely at the laboratories of the Department of Medical Science under the Ministry of Public Health, the Department of Livestock Development, and the Food to Institute.

These steps have been taken in order to reassure consumers and increase their confidence that all meat products used in meal preparation are safe for consumption and have been prepared according to stringent standards as required by the International Food Production Association (ITPA).

It also added that chicken for the preparation of Thai's meals is the produce of a closed area farm system.

As further health safety measures, the Thai staff also conducts daily inspections of chicken farms that produce chicken meat for Thai's in-flight meals, which include inspecting the standards of feeding, disease control processes and production levels.

Thai has also announced it has discontinued catering uplift from risk countries and in-flight meals will be prepared by Thai's Catering Services in Bangkok, with meals loaded from Bangkok for the return flight.

Thai is also cooperating with the Department of Internal Trade, under the Ministry of Commerce. to support white shrimp farmers who are experiencing economic difficulties.

Evidently, the bird flu outbreak has caused the consumption of chicken to decline thus Thai is rendering its support to the white shrimp farmers by introducing special white shrimp menus on the airline's international and domestic flights departing from Bangkok throughout February, the statement said.

Thai has also increased safety precautions by implementing Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), a food production control system that meets World Health Organisation (WHO) standards as well as implementing Good Agricultural Practice (GAP), which measures the standard of quality of raw materials that closely monitors the selection, growth and feeding processes of food preparations.

Thai's passengers and customer airlines can be confident that in-flight meals prepared by Thai's Catering Services meet international standards as stipulated by the IFPA and WHO, the statement added. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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