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Food

Sew Scary: Needles Found In Delta Airlines Sandwiches


By

Garth Johnston

Published Jul 17, 2012

Modified Jul 17, 2012


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By

Garth Johnston

Published Jul 17, 2012

Modified Jul 17, 2012


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Airplane food is notoriously bad (and sometimes unsanitary), but this is ridiculous. The FBI and Dutch police are currently investigating how exactly at least four one-inch needles made their way into sandwiches on Delta airplanes flying from Amsterdam to the United States on Sunday. Because the poor flyers who bit into those sharp bits of metal certainly didn't order them!

Passenger Jim Tonjes of Plymouth told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he felt a sharp poke in his mouth after biting into his sandwich. "I figured it might be a toothpick," he said. But it wasn't. "It looked like a sewing needle but without an eye. ... I was in shock. I thought, `Oh, my God.' It's the last thing you expect in a sandwich." (besides the Spanish Inquisition).

"I took a few bites, and on the third bite, I hit something hard," Jack Drogt, a 55-year-old St. Paul, recalled. "I thought it was a bone and pulled it out. It was a pin about an inch long, sharp on both ends. I called the stewardess over and informed her. She was appropriately surprised and immediately said, 'That's funny - a guy on the other side of the plane just had the same thing happen.' "

Insert your own 'airlines are needling their passengers to death' joke here.

Obviously, the incidents are not being treated lightly. The FBI says it is looking into the issue, as are police in the Netherlands and, of course, Delta Airlines ("Delta is taking this matter extremely seriously and is cooperating with local and federal authorities who are investigating the incident."). Not to mention Gate Gourmet, the company who actually made the sandwiches, which put out a statement saying, "We take this matter very seriously, and we have launched our own full-scale investigation." It also said it was "heightening our already stringent safety and security procedures, to prevent any recurrence." Mmmhmmm.

Not sure which is the worse airplane story of the day: the poor saps stuck eating needles or the big-schlonged guy getting humiliated because of his pride and joy. Yeah, no, needles. Definitely needles.

Tagged

airplane food

amsterdam

bad sandwiches

delta

delta airline

needles


Garth Johnston

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