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"If you already have a fear of flying, airline food may give you one more reason to avoid planes. The family of Othon Cortes are suing American Airlines and SkyMeals for $1 million because they believe bacteria-laden airline food caused his untimely death.   On May 18, 2011, Othon Cortes, 73, flew a transatlantic flight on an American Airlines jetliner from Barcelona, Spain, to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. During the flight he consumed the inflight meal, which his family believes was contaminated with Clostridium perfringens bacteria. While waiting in the JFK airport for his connecting flight to Miami, Cortes began feeling, according to the lawsuit, &amp;quot;discomfort and pain that included sharp stomach cramps and sudden thirst and other clear outward manifestation of severe physical illness.&amp;quot; The symptoms worsened, and while on the flight to Miami, Cortes became unresponsive after a cardiac event. The plane made an emergency landing in Norfolk, Virginia, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. More From Delish: Best Airport Food Across the U.S. This isn&amp;#039;t the first case of its kind this year. In May, an Australian woman named Renee Cherry filed a lawsuit against Virgin Australia for contracting listeria poisoning she believes she passed on to her unborn child (she was pregnant at the time of her flight in 2009). During her flight she purchased a chicken wrap that was contaminated with listeria. While her child did survive, she is suing the airline for damages. Whether the airlines or the companies that supply their food is to blame or not is yet to be determined. But it brings up a fair question: How safe is the food on airplanes? In 2010, the FDA found that airplanes flagrantly violated the most common food safety laws, ranging from not keeping food at proper temperatures to using unclean equipment to poor employee hygiene and inadequate pest control. But food-borne outbreaks from airplane flights are hard to detect. Why? Once the passengers land at their destinations they disperse. Also, there is often a delay in the onset of symptoms, making it very hard for someone who is suffering to pinpoint the source of the food poisoning. What can you do to avoid getting sick? Stick to foods that have been cooked. Salads and other cold foods are more prone to bacteria. Or pack your own snacks, but be sure you bring something that can withstand long periods outside of refrigeration. More From Delish: 11 Travel-Ready Recipes for the Road What do you think? Should the airlines be subject to more stringent health codes? Based on this information, will you stop eating food on airplanes? "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.delish.com/food/news/a38753/contaminated-airplane-food-cause-of-death/>