The disgusting truth about eating on planes

IF YOU’RE torn between a staycation and long-haul holiday this year, reading this about plane food might swing your decision.

IF YOU’RE torn between a staycation and long-haul holiday this year, reading the truth about aeroplane food might help you make the decision.

From the way liquids are kept to how long plane meals are stored before you eat them, the finer details are enough to put you off eating in the sky ever again, reports The Sun.

Even Gordon Ramsay, who owns a restaurant at Heathrow Airport called Plane Flood … AND used to advise Singapore Airlines on their in-flight meals as part of their Culinary Panel, won’t touch the stuff.

He said of the emails served up by airlines recently: “There’s no f****** way I eat on planes.

“I worked for airlines for 10 years, so I know where this food’s been and where it goes, and how long it took before it got on board.”

So what exactly IS in your plane food and drink and how does it get there? Read on to find out more …

PLANE FOOD IS KEPT FOR UP TO THREE DAYS

Yeah, that’s not fresh. Not even close.

The meals served on planes are invented by culinary panels at the airlines themselves, but then they are outsourced to huge catering companies who prep the food in huge VATS to exact specifications in a giant warehouse near the airport.

For example, Gate Gourmet, the catering company that makes the meals for 33 of the world’s biggest airlines.

But the food that arrives on your flight almost definitely hasn’t been made that day.

One airline worker recently claimed: “You get served frozen food which is kept for up to 72 hours.”

The frozen meals, which can actually be legally kept chilled for up to five days, are then rolled onto the plane and heated up by the cabin crew.

THE CHEAP CUTLERY IS AFFECTING YOUR TASTE BUDS

Not even fancy knives and forks could save this atrocity.

There are many reasons why Business and First Class seem better than Economy, but one you probably haven’t thought of is the cutlery.

According to the experts, the plastic knives and forks we’re given in cattle class make the food taste worse.

Prof Charles Spence, an Oxford University psychologist and author of Gastrophysics: The New Science Of Eating, told the Daily Mail: ‘We’ve shown that if you have heavy cutlery you rate food better and will pay more. Plastic takes you down by ten per cent.’

Not only that, but it probably isn’t even NEW.

THE SLOPPIEST FOOD WILL PROBABLY TASTE BEST

Nasi goreng goes all right if you add in plenty of chilli and salt.

Here is probably one fail-safe strategy for ordering plane food — always opt for the stew or curry.

Not only is it the hardest to overcook, its flavour is kept much better in the air.

According to the experts, pasta, chicken breast or anything deep-fried struggles to cope in the harsh cabin pressure and they also are very difficult to reheat well.

THE FOOD WILL ALWAYS TASTE BLAND

Your tastebuds change at 30,000 feet in the air — it’s the reason that tomato juice tastes good and every other drink is just disappointing.

The same applies to food — the meal will taste very bland, despite the extra chillies and spices the catering companies try to compensate with.

A liberal dose of salt and pepper should help to add some flavour back in.

NEVER DRINK THE TEA AND COFFEE

Even the hosties avoid the coffee due to the “gut-rocking bugs”.

Even if you might want a nice cuppa after your tasteless meal, it’s best to say no to the friendly flight attendant.

The tanks that hold the hot water to make the drinks are cleaned rarely.

According to a recent report on Travel and Leisure: “A 2012 EPA report found that 12 per cent of commercial aeroplane water tested positive for coliform bacteria, which usually indicates other gut-rocking bugs like E.coli are present.”

THE TRAY TABLES ARE COVERED IN GERMS

According to research by Skyscanner, the tray table is the dirtiest place on a plane, followed by the overhead air vent, the toilet flush button and the seatbelt buckle.

A former airline worker called Allison Hope has advised all passengers should wipe down the fold down tray — as it could even be covered in faeces.

She told New York website Refinery 29: “Passengers often use the trays as their own private diaper changing tables, and sadly, they are cleaned far less than you’d be comforted to know.”

THE MEALS ARE LADEN WITH CALORIES AND SALT

If the calories don’t get you, the germs might.

It seems the holiday diet is out of the window as soon as we hit the plane.

According to Peter Jones, a retired professor of travel catering from Surrey University, each item on a tray is worth between 360-400 calories, stacking up to an eye-watering 1,500 for a total meal.

He told the Mail: “‘Airlines are not hugely concerned about nutrition because their view is that one meal consumed by a passenger will not make the slightest bit of difference to them out of the thousands of meals they consume.”

This article originally appeared in The Sun and is republished with permission.