Worst in-flight meal ever? Woman finds beetle larva in rice dish
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A woman who found a beetle larva in a Jetstar in-flight meal was told to apply online for a refund.
Serena Chan was about to tuck into a seafood nasi lemak on a flight from Singapore to Australia last week when she got a side dish she hadn't asked for: beetle larva.
The 28-year-old found what she thought was a maggot, but after examining photos she supplied, a university research assistant identified it as a 1cm beetle larva.
Serena 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 her to contact Jetstar headquarters the next day.
She told news.com.au: 'I was told I had to wait five to 10 days for a response. 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The airline has withdrawn the meal from its menus and apologised to her and a spokeswoman said an investigation had started.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 larva.
He said: '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.
'It's probably the best bit of protein in that meal.'
Sounds delicious.
Thought beetle larva was bad? Check out some of the weirdest food around the world:
Weird food around the world. Picky eater? Look away now!
- 'Virgin eggs', China<p> If you happen to be visiting China's Zhejiang Province in the springtime, it's the delicate stench of young boys' urine, rather than daffodils, you'll be sniffing. It's not down to a regional problem with toilet training, rather the pee is used to soak and boil eggs to create a tasty street food snack. Aficionados claim they have 'the taste of spring', but we'll stick with chocolate Mini Eggs, thanks.</p>
- Balut, Philippines<p> Look away if you're squeamish. Balut are boiled, fertilised duck eggs, the (usually) 17 day embryo almost fully developed, with fuzzy hair, bones, beak and all. Commonly sold as street food in the Philippines and other South East Asian countries, they're served with a little salt and /or a chili and vinegar mixture and are thought to be an aphrodisiac. Er, yum.</p>
- Casu Marzu, Sardinia<p> If you like your cheese so 'ripe' that it's actually moving, then this Sardinian speciality is for you. Pecorino sheep's milk cheese is left in the open air until cheese fly larvae are laid, these then hatch and the acid from the digestive systems of the thousands of resulting maggots breaks down the cheese to a soft, seeping texture. To add to the fun and games, when disturbed, the larvae can launch themselves up to 15cm in the air.</p>
- Deep fried pizza, Scotland<p> Ah, the deep fried pizza – stuff of legends. Anyone in any doubt about the existence of this Scottish speciality need only visit a Glasgow chippy on a Saturday night to discover they are alive and well and causing the multiple heart attacks across the land. Any food snobs tempted to scoff should know that 'pizza fritta' is also a Neopolitan speciality (although admittedly they draw the line at stuffing the pizza with a poke of chips...)</p>
- Squirrel brains, South USA<p> Yes, the brain of the small tree climbing rodent is a delicacy in some parts of the US. You cook the head with the rest of the body (after cleaning of course), then, using your fingers and a fork, you crack the skull open and dig the brain out. Apparently, it tastes kind of like mushrooms.</p>
- Surstrӧmming, Sweden<p> As you probably know, the Scandies are very keen on herring. Fried, pickled, whatever. But in the north of Sweden, they go one further in the pursuit of herring heaven by leaving Baltic herring to ferment in their tin until they reach a level of putrefecation that demands the tin only ever be opened and eaten outside.</p>
- Fried tarantulas, Cambodia<p> A dead tarantula's a good tarantula, so if you're passing through the Cambodian town of Skuon, give these deep fried delicacies a try. The legs are crispy and taste of the salt, sugar, oil and garlic in which they're fried, while the gooier abdomen, home to the spider's organs, eggs and excrement, is more of an, ahem, acquired taste.</p>
- Raw puffin heart, Iceland<p> Pity the poor puffin who happens to be born in Iceland, where he gets no legal protection and where his heart, still warm and eaten raw, is a national delicacy. In a country where other food favourites include fermented shark meat and cured ram scrota, looking cute, colourful and clumsy is no defence against being fished out of the sky with a large net.</p>
- Guinea pig, Peru<p> Considered a Peruvian delicacy, guinea pig meat apparently tastes a bit like hare. Breeders recently bred a new 'super guinea pig' in the hope that they could export it to America and around the world. Hmmm. We're still waiting to see if it'll catch on...</p>
- Centipede and scorpions, China<p> Served up in street markets in Nanjing, guess who the the biggest purchasers of these crunchy little critters are? Tourists. Apparently, these taste slightly bitter. And they're very chewy. Which begs the question: why eat them atall?</p>
- Basashi, Japan<p> The UK may be up in arms over unintentionally feasting on horse but it's a delicacy in Japan. Basashi is raw slices of horse traditionally served with ice, daikon pickles and soy sauce. If the idea of horse sashimi doesn't send you galloping to the nearest Japanese restaurant then maybe the news that it also comes in ice cream form will...minced horsemeat ice cream, pass the spoon!</p>
- Sparrows, Vietnam<p> Vietnam operates an 'if you can catch it you can eat it' ethos towards food, which is bad luck for these little birds. This dish recalls the more sinister edge of the nursery rhyme <em>sing a song of sixpence,</em> where four and twenty blackbirds were baked in a pie. These members of the sparrow family are roasted or grilled until crispy and eaten whole, head and all.</p>
- Injera, Ethiopia<p> It comes to the table rolled up and looking like a cold flannel and, to be honest, doesn't taste that much more pleasant to eat. This thin, greyish, crepe-like pancake is a mealtime staple in Ethiopia and made from the fermented grain Teff, giving the injera its distinctive sour, tangy flavour.</p>
- Llama, Bolivia<p> Could you bring yourself to eat one of these cute, furry creatures? If you were in Bolivia you would probably be persuaded as tender Llama meat it served as steaks and burgers. This south American super food apparently tastes like a cross between lamb and beef but comes with far less cholesterol.</p>
- Buddha's hand, China<p> Is it a crustacean, a flower or a piece of coral? Actually Buddha's hands are citrus fruits from the Himalayas and, more recently, California. Use these floral-scented fingers as you would a lemon or lime, grating the peel and zest in salads, cakes and drinks or dried to fragrance a room. Buddha's hand margarita anyone?</p>
