How can Hong Kong travellers, airlines avoid food poisoning after Cathay cases?

Experts and lawmakers have urged airlines operating in Hong Kong to ensure in-flight meals are safely prepared in accordance with industry standards, after two food poisoning incidents affected dozens of Cathay Pacific Airways passengers.

They also appealed to travellers to be more watchful of the meals they were served during flights and to check the temperature, freshness and smell of the food items before eating them.

Health authorities earlier this week launched an investigation into the two cases involving 36 passengers on two separate flights going from Nepal’s Kathmandu to Hong Kong.

The Centre for Health Protection said on Friday that it believed the two food poisoning clusters were epidemiologically linked.

The latest cluster involved 20 people who arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday on flight CX640, while the other 16 passengers travelling via the same route number landed a day earlier.

The centre said it had collected samples of the food provided on the flights, including bread, fruit, beetroot salad, mutton with rice, chicken with rice and ice cream, as well as food consumed by the passengers at the airport or in Nepal before boarding.