TRACES of potentially fatal E.coli bacteria were found in meals intended for British Airways passengers, documents obtained by The Times reveal.

Gate Gourmet, the airline food company at the centre of a bitter industrial dispute, tested a number of its suppliers’ products last year, according to the papers. An internal company document, Microbiological Information 2003-2004, identified eight meals between August 2003 and August 2004 that were infected with food-poisoning bacteria.

E.coli were found in a lemon-chicken salad and a prawn with lemon herbs meal in August 2003; in a honey-glazed chicken and mustard mayonnaise bloomer in October 2003; in four other unnamed sandwiches in November 2003; and in a pesto butter steak fillet in March 2004. E.coli can cause diarrhoea and kidney damage and can trigger fatal infections.

A spokesman for Gate Gourmet said that the products with E.coli had been identified before they had reached BA’s aircraft. “Gate Gourmet takes its own microsamples of all incoming food from all suppliers before any food enters the food chain.

Last September, Gate Gourmet discovered cases of E.coli from a supplier and immediately delisted the supplier and has not used the supplier since. Gate Gourmet has no substantiated food-poisoning claims in the UK, ” he said.

Another product tested by Gate Gourmet, a cheese and onion sandwich, had traces of staphylococcus aureus, according to internal documents. This can cause food poisoning, usually through contaminated desserts, salads or mayonnaise. The symptoms usually appear between four and six hours later and include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal cramps.

Virgin Atlantic inspectors found a series of hygiene failures at Gate Gourmet during a routine inspection last August, the same month that the internal report on E.coli was written. The problems included dirty floors with puddles “attracting flies”, blocked hand-washing basins and “numerous dirty cups, jugs, plates, bowls, glass tumblers”.

A Virgin spokeswoman denied that poor hygiene had played a part in the company’s decision to end its contract with Gate Gourmet in March. However, she said that good hygiene at the airline’s present supplier, Sky Chefs, was one of the reasons for choosing it. “Hygiene is very important in these types of contract,” she said.

An investigation by The Times last week uncovered lapses of security at Gate Gourmet’s plant at Heathrow’s Terminal 4. An undercover reporter also discovered that bags of ice were broken into pieces by being thrown on a dirty factory floor. On at least three occasions, he saw ice bags spill their contents on to the floor, before being scooped up and put into a freezer unit ready to be served in passengers’ drinks.

A spokesman for British Airways said: “The quality of food supplied to BA’s customers is an issue we take extremely seriously. Through our catering suppliers, food samples are routinely and regularly inspected. If any hygiene concerns are identified they result in the offending food products immediately being withdrawn, as happened in this particular case. The matter was thoroughly investigated at the time. Gate Gourmet suspended food products from the company concerned.”

The Transport and General Workers’ Union, which represents the 670 workers sacked by Gate Gourmet on August 10, said that the hygiene problems underlined the danger of airlines outsourcing functions such as catering. A spokesman said that BA had placed too much emphasis on cutting costs. “BA has apparently lost control of an important aspect of its service which is crucial to its brand image,” the spokesman said. “These revelations about poor hygiene must raise questions about whether the necessary controls are being exercised over Gate Gourmet, either by BA or by the public health authorities.”

BA was forced to cancel 700 flights after 1,000 baggage handlers walked out in sympathy with the workers sacked. Yesterday Gate Gourmet outlined the redundancy terms that it hopes will help end the row. Staff taking voluntary redundancy would receive two weeks’ pay for each year of service, more than twice the statutory minimum.

Talks between Gate Gourmet and the union are due to restart once it is known how many of the 1,400 existing staff and how many of the 670 sacked workers are prepared to accept the redundancy offer. It remains unclear what will happen if the 40 “troublemakers”, whom Gate Gourmet is refusing to reinstate, refuse to accept redundancy. BA has agreed to extend its contract with Gate Gourmet until 2010, but only if it resolves its dispute with the union.

A CATALOGUE OF ERRORS

Gate Gourmet supplied in-flight catering to Virgin Atlantic until March, when the airline switched to Sky Chefs. Last August a Virgin inspection team found a series of hygiene problems at Gate Gourmet. These included:

Failure to clean trolleys properly, with “food debris” left on some

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