Delta investigates spoiled meals that led to emergency landing

Delta spokesman Anthony Black said the flight was about a third full after the flight, but it was not known how many people had eaten. Medical experts consulted by the flight crew recommended a stopover in New York City.

Emergency medical workers met Flight 136 at John F. Kennedy International Airport after it landed around 4 a.m. Wednesday to treat passengers; about a dozen people were checked out, but no one was taken to the hospital, according to Delta. The airline said the flight crew did not eat.

“Delta’s food safety team has engaged suppliers to immediately isolate the product and begin a full investigation into the incident,” the airline said in a statement. “This is not the service Delta is known for and we sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and delay to their flights.”

On about 75 international flights on Wednesday and Thursday, Delta moved to “pasta service” amid a review of its meals, Black said.

Airlines use meals prepared by outside vendors; hot meals are pre-cooked and frozen or kept cold before being reheated on board.

Black did not name the catering company responsible for the meals on Wednesday's flight, but said “there are multiple components of the catering under review.”

The service disruption came amid a busy Fourth of July travel week when Delta was expecting to carry nearly 6 million people. interview The airline's CEO Ed Bastian said in an interview with CBS Morning that the company's teams are ready for the holiday.

Health experts say food on a plane — just like food on the ground — can become contaminated. In several waysincluding exposure to dirty water, incorrect The food may be difficult to handle or cook, among other things. It may not be heated properly or may have been left out for too long. But while food poisoning does happen on airplanes, it's not a very common problem.

If travelers had accidentally eaten mold-tainted food, it might have gone without a hitch, says Mark Gendreau, MD, chief medical officer at Beverly, Addison Gilbert and Anna Jack hospitals in Massachusetts.

He says people with healthy immune systems can tolerate eating a large amount of mold, unless they are consuming “a massive amount of mold.”

People can still experience nausea, vomiting and diarrhea within hours if they develop symptoms. Although rare, symptoms can also appear a day or two later, including allergic reactions and rashes, and in rarer cases, weakness, fatigue and difficulty breathing, Gendreau added.

Ali A. Khan, Gastroenterologist Digestive health But in Fairfax, Virginia, researchers say eating mold may be more dangerous for people with weakened immune systems, because the risk of it turning into a major fungal infection is greater.

You should be able to tell if your meal is contaminated. Signs of mold include unusual white or black spots, a softer-than-normal texture or a foul odor, Khan said. If you find mold, throw out the entire meal rather than trying to cut away the moldy part, he said. It can be difficult to determine how far the mold and nearby bacteria have spread.