Beetroot salad is Nepal flight food poisoning top suspect

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health has concluded its investigation into food poisoning clusters among passengers on two Cathay Pacific Airways Limited flights from Kathmandu, Nepal, and does not rule out that it was caused by the beetroot salad, contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus served on board the flights.

The investigation focused on incidents involving flight number CX640, which arrived in Hong Kong on January 8 and 9.

A total of 43 passengers exhibited symptoms such as vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea shortly after consuming inflight meals. The affected individuals, aged between 11 and 75, did not require hospitalization. Stool samples from two patients tested positive for Staphylococcus aureus, confirming the bacteria as the cause of the symptoms.

The CHP's comprehensive epidemiological investigation involved contacting 120 passengers through various means to assess symptoms and food consumption. It was determined that all affected passengers had consumed food served on the flights, with no other common food sources before boarding. The investigation pinpointed beetroot salad as the only statistically significant food item associated with the illness.

Further analysis revealed that out of approximately 500 food servings on the flights, two samples of beetroot salad from the same batches did not exceed food safety standards for Staphylococcus aureus. However, the CHP discovered that the salad had been supplied exclusively on flights from Kathmandu since January and identified manual handling during its preparation as a potential contamination risk.

Following these findings, the CHP instructed the food factory to cease the supply of beetroot salad on January 10. Subsequent inspections of the factory emphasized the need to minimize manual handling and improve hygiene practices among food handlers.

Since the cessation of beetroot salad supply, no further incidents of food poisoning on the related flights have been reported.

Cathay Pacific has responded to inquiries regarding two suspected food poisoning cases on flight CX640 from Kathmandu to Hong Kong on January 7 and 8, 2025. The airline stated that it has cooperated with the CHP throughout their investigation.

The investigation indicated that beetroot salad could be a potential source of food poisoning, although tests on 57 samples did not show contamination exceeding food safety standards. Cathay Pacific has confirmed that this salad is not offered on any other flights and there have been no similar reports from other flights.

Following these incidents, Cathay Pacific removed the salad from their menu and has implemented additional measures to enhance their food handling processes and staff training, adopting all recommendations from the health authorities.

Cathay Pacific apologizes to all affected customers and reaffirms its commitment to high standards of food safety.