First class foodies on path to food poisoning after failed hygiene inspection

NEXT time you're travelling first class, be sure you're well fed before the flight. A hygiene inspection has revealed the dirty habits of airport lounge.

A catering service for British Airways has been slammed for its dirty kitchen habits.

NEXT time you're travelling first class, be sure you're well fed before the flight.

A hygiene inspection has uncovered some dirty kitchen habits that will have passengers travelling in British Airways' flagship first-call lounge gagging out of disgust.

Either for the rotten food, or the $AU17,000 price tag, we're not sure.

Out-of-date eggs and dirty kitchen utensils were among the notable bad hygiene habits associated to BaxterStorey, which credits itself as "the UK's leading independent contract catering services".

"Unchilled" sandwiches, a dirty ice machine and food chiller were among the items found with the rotten goods, while one worker was seen preparing raw salmon with his unwashed, bare hands.

Sausages and scrambled eggs were also found to be kept in less than cool conditions.

"These types of food are likely to support the growth of food poisoning bacteria or the formation of toxins," the report said.

They were given a "poor" rating for food hygiene for BA's first class lounge and Concorde Room at terminal five, reports The Scotsman.

Even the local council gave the venue a measly two-out-of-five score and ordered the catering company to take swift action.

A spokeswoman for the company said: "BaxterStorey and British Airways will continue to work closely to improve services to achieve the very high standards we demand as a business.

"To this end, we have carried out an extensive renovation of the First and Concorde kitchen, investing considerable resources in training and development and implemented new rigorous auditing processes.

"We are confident that we have made significant improvements and have actively invited Hillingdon Council to return and re-audit the facilities."

Schools, universities and corporate canteens are also supplied goods by BaxterStorey.

In comparison, competitor airlines at Heathrow have received impressive results, with Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class Clubhouse scoring a four out of five.