An Air India flight. Representative image
| Photo Credit: PTI

A week after an Air India passenger allegedly found a blade-like metal piece in his food onboard a Bangalore-San Francisco flight, the airline confirmed the presence of a “foreign object” in the food. It (the object) came from the vegetable processing machine used at the facilities of its catering partner, the airline said in a statement on June 17.

“Air India confirms that a foreign object was found in the meal of a guest aboard one of our flights. After investigation, it has been identified as coming from the vegetable processing machine used at the facilities of our catering partner,” Air India Chief Customer Experience Officer Rajesh Dogra said in the statement. The airline had initiated a probe after the passenger posted on X that there was a blade-like metal object in the meal.

“Air India food can cut like a knife. Hiding in its roasted sweet potato and fig chaat was a metal piece that looked like a blade. I got a feel of it only after chewing the grub for a few seconds. Thankfully, no harm was done,” the passenger, Mathures Paul, a journalist, said in the post. He blamed Air India’s catering service, adding, “but the incident doesn’t help the image I have of Air India”, adding that “what if the metal piece was in the food served to a child?”

The airline has worked with its catering partner to strengthen measures to prevent any recurrence, including more frequent checking of the processor, especially after chopping any hard vegetables, Mr. Dogra said in the statement. “Air India has engaged with the affected customer and deeply apologises for this experience,” he added.

This is the second incident involving the food served on the Tata Group-owned airline’s long-haul flights.

Earlier on Saturday, a business-class passenger of the airline’s New Delhi-Newark flight had alleged that he was served “uncooked” food by the airline and the seats were dirty, describing the journey as “no less than a nightmare”.