Sunfish
7th Jun 2011, 22:27
Good one Jetstar. So much for the low cost model.
A WOMAN who found a beetle larvae in her Jetstar dinner says she was told to apply online for a meal refund.
When Serena Chen, right, tucked into the Malaysian-style seafood nasi lemak on her flight home from Singapore last week she got a shock.
http://media.news.com.au/news/2011/01-jan/link-icons/icon_galleries.gif Airline food: The good, bad and ugly
The 28-year-old from Yangebup discovered what she thought was a maggot, but after examining photos she supplied, a WA insect expert identified it as a 1cm beetle larvae.
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The university research assistant alerted crew and asked for her money back.
She claims she was told she would have to apply online for a refund and was offered a replacement meal. After another complaint, she eventually received a refund, but it was the thought of more contaminated meals that prompted Ms Chen to contact Jetstar headquarters the next day.
"I was told I had to wait five to 10 days for a response," she said. "I didn't think that was good enough and emailed them and Jetstar Asia contacted me, wanting me to email the picture."
The airline has withdrawn the meal from its menus and apologised to her and a spokeswoman said an investigation had started.
"Obviously this is an incident which has to do with our caterers," the spokeswoman said.
"It's an isolated case and it's highly unlikely it's a maggot. Its more likely to be a rice worm.
"We are now working with suppliers to replace any rice batches and look through the production process to ensure this doesn't happen again. The dish won't be returned until they have gone through all that safety insurance work."
Professor Ian Dadour, director of Forensic Entomologist Centre at University of Western Australia, said he was unable to determine exactly what species the larvae was. But he confirmed it was a beetle larvae.
"If it was packaged in the food it would be dead and would have come from the vegetable matter. It could have been in the rice too. But unless I get more info, I can't tell you much more," he said.
"It's probably the best bit of protein in that meal."
Serena Chen finds beetle larvae in Jetstar meal | Herald Sun (http://www.heraldsun.com.au/travel/news/wa-woman-finds-beetle-larvae-in-jetstar-meal/story-fn32891l-1226070676877)
A WOMAN who found a beetle larvae in her Jetstar dinner says she was told to apply online for a meal refund.
When Serena Chen, right, tucked into the Malaysian-style seafood nasi lemak on her flight home from Singapore last week she got a shock.
http://media.news.com.au/news/2011/01-jan/link-icons/icon_galleries.gif Airline food: The good, bad and ugly
The 28-year-old from Yangebup discovered what she thought was a maggot, but after examining photos she supplied, a WA insect expert identified it as a 1cm beetle larvae.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
Related Coverage
Airline food: Good, bad, ugly
Qantas add-on fees soar sky-high Herald Sun, 9 minutes ago
Woman finds beetle in Jetstar meal Adelaide Now, 3 days ago
Wheelchair-bound pair banned from flight Herald Sun, 12 Apr 2011
Plant pests Adelaide Now, 19 Mar 2011
Jetstar backflips after playing hardball Courier Mail, 3 Mar 2011
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
The university research assistant alerted crew and asked for her money back.
She claims she was told she would have to apply online for a refund and was offered a replacement meal. After another complaint, she eventually received a refund, but it was the thought of more contaminated meals that prompted Ms Chen to contact Jetstar headquarters the next day.
"I was told I had to wait five to 10 days for a response," she said. "I didn't think that was good enough and emailed them and Jetstar Asia contacted me, wanting me to email the picture."
The airline has withdrawn the meal from its menus and apologised to her and a spokeswoman said an investigation had started.
"Obviously this is an incident which has to do with our caterers," the spokeswoman said.
"It's an isolated case and it's highly unlikely it's a maggot. Its more likely to be a rice worm.
"We are now working with suppliers to replace any rice batches and look through the production process to ensure this doesn't happen again. The dish won't be returned until they have gone through all that safety insurance work."
Professor Ian Dadour, director of Forensic Entomologist Centre at University of Western Australia, said he was unable to determine exactly what species the larvae was. But he confirmed it was a beetle larvae.
"If it was packaged in the food it would be dead and would have come from the vegetable matter. It could have been in the rice too. But unless I get more info, I can't tell you much more," he said.
"It's probably the best bit of protein in that meal."
Serena Chen finds beetle larvae in Jetstar meal | Herald Sun (http://www.heraldsun.com.au/travel/news/wa-woman-finds-beetle-larvae-in-jetstar-meal/story-fn32891l-1226070676877)