The Worst Food And Drink To Eat And Drink On A Plane

Every type of traveler — from occasional to frequent flyers — has an opinion about food served on planes, whether they’re appreciative of the fare or starkly opposed to eating anything that was precooked and then heated up in the air.

But how do the people tasked with preparing and serving these onboard dishes feel about them?

HuffPost spoke with three flight attendants about the airplane meals they would never eat midflight, as well as those they’d actually recommend.

In the process, they also shared a few interesting facts about the industry. Did you know, for example, that most airplane food is prepared at one of a handful of catering companies and then trucked over to various airports?

Also, a whole lot of employees bring their own food to work, according to a flight attendant named Whytney who has worked with a major U.S. airline for seven years.

“Usually, people bring a pretty large insulated lunchbox with everything in it: meat, yogurts, salads, fruits and more,” said Whytney, who requested that her surname be withheld her privacy reasons.

But when they do partake in airplane fare, here are some of the food and drink items they steer clear of.

Although bottled water is fine, tap water should be dealt with carefully, Whytney explained.

“It all comes down to how often the pipes are cleaned,” she said, noting that tap water is also commonly used to brew coffee and tea on airplanes.

“The issue isn’t so much within the United States but, across other countries, similar regulations aren’t in place.”

One 2019 study ranked 11 major and 12 regional airlines in terms of water quality, looking at factors like whether E. coli or coliform was present.

Although it didn’t detail how often the pipes were cleaned across each carrier, the study found that Alaska Airlines and Allegiant Air offered the safest water. JetBlue and Spirit Air ranked last.

“Most flight attendants won’t drink the tap water, coffee or tea,” said Whytney, before noting that the latter two options also tend to dehydrate — another reason to stay away from them while traveling.

To further avoid dehydration, Jasmine King, who has been working as a flight attendant since 2015, suggested avoiding salty snacks like nuts and pretzels.

Although a matter of personal preference, some flight attendants stay away from eating steaks and fillets while on the job because of how they’re prepared. Specifically, they’re almost always…