The Flying Food Group LAX investigation is drawing sustained regulatory and union scrutiny after employees filed a formal safety complaint alleging that decomposing, mould-infested food was handled and prepared for loading onto commercial flights at the company’s Inglewood, California facility, near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
The catering operation supplies meals to more than 75 airlines across its 19 US facilities and prepares an estimated 120 million meals per year, making the conditions alleged at the Inglewood site a concern that extends well beyond a single kitchen.
What the Safety Complaint Alleges
The complaint, filed by employees and UNITE HERE Local 11, states that a worker was directed in late June to open dish carts that had been left sealed inside the facility for an extended period. Inside, she reportedly found decomposing food infested with mould, maggots and other vermin. She allegedly requested the dishes be discarded, but claims she was instructed instead to clean them for an upcoming flight. The employee also says she was not provided with a mask or respirator while handling the material.
Beyond the decomposing food, the complaint alleges that cockroaches and other pests have been found inside the facility, including in food preparation areas and around serving carts. Bathrooms and handwashing stations were said to lack sufficient soap and paper towels for employees to clean themselves adequately before returning to work.
‘Workers are incredibly frustrated,’ said Maria Hernandez, press secretary for UNITE HERE Local 11. She told CNN that they ‘find it shocking that these kinds of conditions have occurred at a facility that has a special license from the City of LA to operate at LAX and supplies some of the world’s biggest airlines.’
Flying Food Group told CNN it is aware of the situation and is conducting a review while cooperating with the appropriate authorities. Los Angeles World Airports, which oversees LAX, declined to comment, citing the matter as being before Cal/OSHA.
A Pattern of Regulatory Action and Wider Workplace Concerns
The latest complaint does not represent an isolated incident. In May 2026, California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) issued Flying Food Group six citations following a January incident in which two workers were reportedly found locked inside a cold storage room that had been chained shut from the outside. What the report does not capture is that, according to the Los Angeles Times, Cal/OSHA had already cited the company for the same cold-storage entrapment hazard in August 2023, more than two years before the January incident that produced the May 2026 citations.
The regulatory record sits alongside separate workplace grievances. The Los Angeles Times also reported that in 2024 and 2025, several women at Flying Food Group stated they had been sexually harassed by a supervisor and were subsequently retaliated against for speaking out. Together, the Cal/OSHA citations, the entrapment incidents and the harassment allegations point to a sustained pattern of workforce complaints at the facility rather than a single isolated episode.
UNITE HERE Local 11 has submitted evidence to Cal/OSHA in connection with the latest health concerns, including photographs, videos and employee testimony, and is calling for further investigation into practices at the Inglewood site.
Flying Food Group LAX Investigation: Regulatory Oversight and Catering Chain Risk
For airlines and travel industry operators, the Flying Food Group LAX investigation raises questions about oversight along the catering supply chain. Airline catering facilities are subject to federal food-safety regulations designed to prevent contamination, including from the kinds of infestations described in the complaint. The chain runs from kitchen to catering truck, from airport tarmac to galley, with meals required to be kept at appropriate temperatures and protected from contamination throughout.
At present, it remains unclear whether any of the food described in the complaint was ultimately loaded onto and served aboard a commercial flight. Flying Food Group has said it is reviewing the matter; Cal/OSHA has not publicly confirmed the scope of any inspection arising from the most recent union filing.
The union is pushing Cal/OSHA to act on the photographic and video evidence it has submitted. That evidence, and the agency’s response to it, will be the clearest indicator of whether the Inglewood facility’s operating standards require immediate corrective action before service continues.
