In a week when media reports suggested that food poisoning was the biggest potential threat to air travellers, British Airways’ inflight catering has received the prestigious Gold Mercury award for high standards of food safety. The award – sponsored by the International Flight Catering Association, and the highest in its field – was made for BA’s airborne food safety checks.

These were developed by BA health services’ (BAHS) food safety and environment team in conjunction with inflight services’ catering operations team. The checks employ the “T-Stick”, a special disposable thermometer which ensures hot food is safe to serve, and the “Smart Label”, a temperature-sensitive label which shows that cold food has been stored at the correct temperature prior to being served. Food safety and environment head Mike Kelly said: “At British Airways we have extremely strict food hygiene policies in place, both on the ground and on board. Our temperature control system allows cabin crew to keep on-board meals at the correct temperature for food safety, and helps to ensure the safety of food served to our customers.

“The introduction of the cold food monitor has not only improved food safety but has enabled inflight services to extend the range of their return catering operation in Europe, making considerable cost savings. The thermometers rely on colour change to indicate the correct temperature, and were specially designed, developed and packaged to BAHS’ specification. BAHS worked with the manufacturers to ensure the thermometers exactly matched the airline’s needs. Entered in the aircraft equipment category of the Mercury Awards, BA’s Food Safety Checks in the Air was chosen above 15 other entries. Stephen Glass, Food safety and environmental health manager Stephen Glass and catering operations manager Graham Elliott collected the award on behalf of the airline at the IFCA annual conference in Copenhagen on Friday.