May 24, 2005
The food poisoning 45 passengers suffered from after flying out of Honolulu may be linked to the carrots served on the flights.
The meal with carrots was prepared by Gate Gourmet Inc., which is based in Virginia and Switzerland and has business in 30 countries. It is an airline food supplier for many airlines including Northwest, United, Delta, Hawaiian and Aloha Airlines.
According to a state epidemiologist, the Gate Gourmet carrots served on the flights may be linked to the food poisoning outbreak. But it is not certain where the contamination occurred along the production line.Continue Reading Carrots blamed for food poisoning on Airliner

Tuesday, May 17, 2005 Posted: 3:48 PM EDT (1948 GMT)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — An airline catering company must take major steps to clean its Honolulu location or risk the unit’s closure after U.S. health inspectors found live cockroaches, dirty utensils and an oozing, pink slime earlier this year, according to a letter released Tuesday.
Gate Gourmet, Inc., which provides food and beverages to a number of airlines at Honolulu Airport, also kept “dirty uncovered” trash cans near food, let workers handle ice cubes with bare hands, and did not keep food at proper temperatures, the Food and Drug Administration warned.Continue Reading FDA warns airline food supplier over filth

An Orlando man says he became sick after eating tainted carrots on a flight.
By Sarah Hale Meitner | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted May 21, 2005
An Orlando man — claiming contaminated carrots he ate while aboard a Northwest Airlines flight left him severely sick — filed a lawsuit this week in Honolulu against Gate Gourmet Inc., the airline’s caterer.
Ernie Lyons, a 56-year-old patient-care coordinator for a retail pharmacy, is one of 45 people who became ill with food poisoning after flying from Honolulu last August and eating a salad served with raw carrots. His symptoms included nausea, cramps, fever and tremors.Continue Reading Airline caterer hit with lawsuit

FDA Sent Catering Company Warning Letter
POSTED: 11:10 am CDT May 20, 2005
UPDATED: 11:24 am CDT May 20, 2005
HONOLULU — Contaminated carrots served over three days on flights out of Honolulu were likely at the root of 45 cases of food poisoning across 22 states, Japan, Australia and American Samoa, state epidemiologist Paul Effler said Thursday.
A lawsuit was filed Thursday in state Circuit Court in Honolulu against the caterer, Gate Gourmet, which served the carrots.
According to the lawsuit, Ernie Lyon of Orlando, Fla., became ill with symptoms including nausea, diarrhea, fever and tremors three days after a Northwest Airlines flight from Honolulu to Minneapolis on August 22.Continue Reading Contaminated Airline Food Blamed For Illnesses

Ernie Lyon says food served on a flight by Gate Gourmet made him sick
By Allison Schaefers
aschaefers@starbulletin.com
A Florida man sued Honolulu airline caterer Gate Gourmet yesterday, claiming the company sickened him on a flight to the mainland last year.
Ernie Lyon accused the company of serving food contaminated with the Shigella bacteria, causing him to develop a 104-degree fever and accrue $3,000 in medical bills. The suit seeks unspecified damages.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned Gate Gourmet in an April letter of unsanitary conditions at its Honolulu kitchen, including employees preparing meals in bug-infested areas.Continue Reading Florida man seeks damages against isle airline caterer

May 13, 2005
Two more cases of Shigella are reported in Jackson as officials continue to struggle to contain the bacteria 4 months after the 1st outbreak. With the new cases,the county now has 54 confirmed cases of Shigella since the start of the year. 13 of those cases have been in the last 2 weeks.
Health officials say they don’t believe the outbreak originated in the schools,but 27 of the cases involve students. Jackson officials says they’re still worried about controlling the spread of the disease.
Mary Ricciardello, RN Jackson County Health Department: “W e’re just worried about the infectiousness of this disease. We’re afraid that this isn’t just going to smolder, but I’m just hoping it doesn’t explode.”Continue Reading More Local Cases of Shigella

May 12, 2005
Shigellosis continues to spread in Jackson County. Health official says 15 new cases have been reported since April. They’ve had 52 confirmed cases so far this year. Officials say 27 students from 18 county schools are among those infected.
The Shigella bacteria is highly contagious. To control the spread, health officials say…

On September 3, 2004, the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) was notified by representatives of the Japanese Ministry of Health that several persons with diarrheal illness and stool cultures positive for Shigella sonnei had reported flying from Honolulu to Japan during August 22-24 on Airline A. Review of Hawaii DOH records revealed recent reports of positive stool cultures for S. sonnei from a child in Ohio who departed Honolulu on Airline A on August 22, and from a woman who flew from Honolulu to Sydney on Airline B on August 23.
Contact with the Minnesota DOH identified a cluster of S. sonnei infections with a matching pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) pattern. At least one case was in a person who departed Honolulu on Airline A on August 22. Preliminary investigation indicated that airlines A and B shared a common caterer in Honolulu , Catering Company X.Continue Reading Shigella From Catering Company