Food Safety Awareness Training & Catering Training for Pilots/Charter/FBO-CSR's 
​​​​​​​COVID19 - AIRCRAFT CABIN AND CATERING BEST PRACTICES

CHARTER/FBO/S&D/HANDLERS/PILOTS/FLIGHT TECHS/LINE SERVICE Food Safety Awareness/How To Order Safe Correct Catering

FBO's many times are charged with the task of ordering catering via the CSR's when a transient aircraft comes thru without a trained F/A. The PIC or SIC get off of their aircraft, ask for fuel, lav service, topping of the potable water supply and any specific aircraft service requests which might include ordering the catering for the outbound leg. The CSR's are basically clueless about the aircraft's galley equipment and cabin size restrictions.

They do not know what questions to ask the pilots before the pilots leave the FBO and they do not know what to tell the caterer.
If you are an operation with no F/A or an FBO, do your CSR's/Pilots/ S&D's know the right questions to ask the person on the other side of the counter when charged with the mission of obtaining safe catering? As the person responsible for calling the caterer, are you:


1. Cognizant of the galley compartment size constraints?

2. Galley equipment (oven/microwave,and their respective sizes).

3. Correct and accurate packaging?

4. Aware of food allergies/religious dietary food restrictions/food eating trends and special trendydiets to name a few? (Inclusive of your pilots and their well being in-flight)

5. Do you know the seating configuration of the aircraft to order trays that will accommodate the space and the passengers seating?

6. Are you ordering totally different crew/pilot meals to avoid possible food poisoning?

7. Are your line service people eating catering that is left over from an inbound flight that was not kept temperature safe? If so, the cost to you as an employer is high in lost workforce time and sick pay if they get food poisoning.

8. Have you as an FBO owner/manager or a flight department ever visited the catering facility that you get your catering from?

9. Have you ever seen their paperwork from the FDA/Insurance Paperwork/Local Board of Health Inspections?

10. Are you requesting your catering in SEALED boxes to mitigate passenger and crew food sabotage?


It is all about accurate information and communication skills. At the end of the day, it is called DUE DILIGENCE and you as a business are liable if a passenger gets ill when you were charged with attaining the catering. Realistically, you can't FIX a catering disaster/dilemma at 45,000 feet...

When the catering is wrong, the client is mad and at times will not pay for the catering and you are stuck with the bill to promote customer satisfaction. The last thing you want to hear from a client is “Take this off of the fuel bill. It is wrong.”

This is also a training for pilots that fly without a trained flight attendant and the ones responsible for securing safe catering as well as flight techs working the cabin on trips without a trained flight attendant and S&D's that must order catering.

This also happens to Charter operations. Some passengers then refuse to even pay for the actual charter! The Handlers globally are at a loss so many times about securing catering and some do not know what questions to ask the crew regarding the actual galley equipment and cabin size constraints when ordering catering for their accounts. Securing catering from the airline of any country using First Class food is not acceptable or safe for our passengers. There is the issue of airline food sabotage!

The importance of food safety involves safeguarding food from anything that could harm the health of consumers. It is all about best practices! In this case, it applies to the crews and the passengers that come thru your FBO. For Part 135 operations that order catering for their customers, it is crucial that the catering you order accommodates the galley size constraints for the equipment type, and is delivered utilizing the safest standards of delivery. That means correct packaging and safe temperature control. High standards enable everyone to enjoy their food without illness, injury or other problems, but poor standards can lead to all types of harm and possible death.

A physically compromised pilot due to food poisoning is not a good thing for the mission of the trip! An ill CEO cannot attend the meeting that he was en route to resulting in loss of business and time sensitive productivity. Food safety is so important to everyone, and the people who work with food, and actually order the catering have legal, ethical and economic responsibilities for keeping food safe to eat.

Food borne Illness - Any illness caused by eating or drinking contaminated food. Sometimes called food borne disease.

The impact of food borne illnesses translates into high standards of food safety bringing important benefits to everyone. Consumers, employees, managers, supervisors, owners, and community in general. For us, it is GLOBAL LEADERS and CEO’s. There are high costs for poor food safety which includes pain and suffering, distress for individuals and a financial burden and loss of reputation for the FBO and the caterer that you used. Every year there are food safety alerts that result in death. In the last 20 years there have been over 16,000 plus (continually changing) food safety alerts and thousands of outbreaks.

When a passenger or crew member is poisoned because of the food that your FBO or scheduler/dispatcher ordered, this is a small industry and people will hear that you were not cognizant of your catering and its’ source. As we all know, in this industry our reputations are beyond important in return business and best practices.

Food borne Illness Outbreak - Two or more people with a food borne illness.

We offer a 1 - 2 day training program for FBO employees, Schedulers & Dispatchers, Charter operations and pilots. We will come to your location!

 

Food Safety Awareness
Proper Food Holding Temperatures
Cross Contamination
Passenger Food Allergies and Dietary Restrictions (Health/Religious)/Trends
How To Really Order Catering For ANY Aircraft Type/Size
Catering Communication Skills
Galley Size Constraints
Correct Packaging
FBO Kitchen & Line Service BEST PRACTICES
Clean Ice Machines & Ice Delivery


All of these measures ensure food safety and security measures! Being cognizant of these measures can enhance your customer service skills for your clients and ensure return business. I have written several articles for a UK based on-line magazine called Blue Sky produced by Newslett Publishing in the UK. It was an on going series published once a month that went out to thousands of business aviation professionals. These articles can be found in their archives.

http://www.blueskynews.aero/


My latest BLOG for Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc. -


http://www.universalweather.com/blog/2013/01/what-you-should-expect-from-fbos-personal-security-and-food-for-thought-a-corporate-flight-attendants-perspective/?goback=%2Egde_2400789_member_201853383
 

Food Safety Letter of Recommendation Training

Re: Susan Friedenberg

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to recommend Susan C. Friedenberg for any position or training program. I have known and worked with Susan for over 20 years and she is a highly qualified and dedicated person in business aviation and an outstanding employee.

Susan has shown her commitment and work ethic to me countless times throughout the years. Having had the pleasure to work with Susan in the past and watch her grow and excel professionally has given me the confidence to know that she is a very hard, loyal and dedicated person. Over the years, Susan has embraced and used every opportunity she has been given to strive towards self and professional improvement.

Susan was a stellar asset for me and is a tremendous asset to any company that employs her and I recommend her to you without reservation. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Ronald M. Silverman - President
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We asked Susan to conduct a “Food Safety and Catering Training” course for our small flight department. We specially asked her to teach us best practices for catering and food handling considering we never have a Flight Attendant on board. She very carefully crafted a 1-day course for our crew during which she covered food handling, proper catering ordering, and food storage and presentation.

Susan took the time to properly prepare the course. She came a day early to spend time in our aircraft in order to get a sense of the storage capabilities and making recommendations on how and what to order for our airplane and passengers. Her tips on how to order catering, in particular, was extremely helpful, and have resulted in much more success and better customer service for our passengers.
Susan’s course was presented with humor and insight she clearly gained from years of experience in the industry. I highly recommend her training to any flight department, small or large.

Lara Jaugust, Aviation Manager
Boston Area Flight Operation
2014
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Educational Speaking Engagement ( Two Hours )

Recently, we had the pleasure of having Susan speak at the Aviation Safety Committee conference in Charleston, SC. Susan is an engaging presenter who genuinely cares and is very passionate about her topic.

When it comes to educating folks on the proper handling of food and catering in the Part 135 world, no one knows the subject matter better than Susan. She provides real world examples of what not to do along with the best practices for any operation that we all should be incorporating into our charter operations. Susan also provides in depth training for flight attendants as well that covers much more than catering and food safety. It was a great opportunity for our group to learn from one of the best experts in the business.

Bob Schick
Chairman, Aviation Safety Committee - National Safety Council
Director of Safety & Risk Management
TAC Air
May, 2015

 
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215.625.4811
215.413.9013 fax
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