Workers at a catering facility that provides in-flight meals to Los Angeles International Airport said they had been exposed to cockroaches, maggots and mold in a complaint filed on Wednesday with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
The complaint against Flying Food Group, a catering company that serves many of the nation’s busiest airports, also claims that employees at the facility, in Inglewood, Calif., had “insufficient or nonexistent soap and drying paper in facility restrooms.”
UNITE HERE Local 11, the labor union that brought the complaint, urged Cal/OSHA to inspect the facility. The union sent a letter on Friday to Los Angeles World Airports, the city-run organization that oversees the airport, claiming that a Cal/OSHA inspector had been denied entry to the facility earlier that day.
Cal/OSHA said in an email to The New York Times that it “received the complaint and has opened an inspection,” but declined to provide additional details or comment on whether its inspector had been denied entry.
Flying Food Group did not respond to emails or calls to its headquarters in Chicago. Los Angeles World Airports declined to comment.
The complaint centers on a claim by an employee who said she was directed in late June to clean dishes in a cart that had been left unopened “for a prolonged period of time.” The employee “found dozens of dishes covered in decomposing, mold-covered food,” the complaint said, adding, “Many of the dishes contained what appeared to be live maggots and flies, producing an overwhelming stench.”
The employee suggested the dishes be thrown out, according to the complaint, but a supervisor refused and told her they were needed for an upcoming flight. The employee experienced “stomach pain, a headache and a strange sensation in her nose, which she believed was caused by inhaling the fuzzy mold,” the complaint said, adding that she had not been provided with appropriate protective equipment.
According to the union, Flying Food Group serves more than dozen international airlines at Los Angeles International, including Air France, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Virgin Atlantic.
The complaint also cites allegations by another employee, who in December 2025 said she photographed cockroaches in the kitchen and on a cart from Lufthansa.
Tal Muscal, a spokesman for Lufthansa, said in an email that the airline was not previously aware of the incident.
“Lufthansa Group holds its caterers to rigorous food safety and sanitation standards, and we expect full compliance with these standards at all times across our global network,” Mr. Muscal wrote. “Otherwise, Lufthansa will not hesitate in taking appropriate action.”
Virgin Atlantic said it had “no evidence that catering supplied for its customers has been compromised,” but was taking the accusations seriously. None of the other airlines responded to requests for comment.
Flying Food Group, founded in 1983, operates 19 catering facilities across the United States, serving airports including Washington Dulles International; O’Hare International, in Chicago; San Francisco International; Kennedy and Newark Liberty international airports in the New York City area; and Los Angeles International. On its website, the company says it provides “exceptional meals and service backed by an uncompromising food safety culture.”
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