Everyone knows we can’t expect much when it comes to airline meals, unless Gordon Ramsey is sitting next to you and whips up something with ingredients from his briefcase.

But at the very least, we expect our meal to be edible, and preferably, without metal objects.

Man Found Screw In SIA First-Class Suite Meal; SIA Has Since Responded

When one first-class passenger on Singapore Airlines opened his steaming cup of pumpkin mushroom soup, he probably expected many things.

A salty tongue, a full stomach, and a satiated appetite.

What he didn’t expect, was a screw in his mouth.

Thank God it’s not, erm, rusty?

A Stomper alerted Stomp to the passenger’s review on WeChat of his Singapore Airlines SQ285 Suites experience from Singapore to Auckland on 1 Jan.

After reviewing the airport and lounge, the passenger wrote he was “lucky” enough to feel a sharp object in his mouth while sipping his pumpkin mushroom soup.

“I pulled out a metal screw and all the crew probably wet their pants seeing one when I showed them,” he wrote.

I suppose it’s better than finding a cockroach in your noodles? 

“A S$200 voucher was offered immediately as service recovery, but I was no longer having more appetite for the rest of my flight,” the man wrote.

The passenger wrote a letter to SIA, and shared what was told to him after an investigation had been conducted.

“They found the missing screw which came from one of its kitchen blenders as it was mixed into the soup bowl, passed the metal detector and [was] delivered onto the plane, reheated in a microwave, and served to me.”

I don’t even want to think about what would’ve happened if the passenger swallowed the screw. Maybe he’ll become Iron Man I don’t know.

The man added that he received no further compensation for the incident.

No compensation after leaving a screw in someone’s soup? Someone needs to tell SIA to stop screwing around.

Reader: You just had to, didn’t you.

I did. I really did.

The screw was his only complaint, however, saying he would have given his journey a five out of five otherwise.

“In this case, no matter how great your hardware on this A380 was and how wonderful [this] crew were, it’s a shame that such an incident happened within SQ’s watch and how they dealt with it”, he said.

SIA’s response

In response to a Stomp query, an SIA spokesman had this to say:

“Singapore Airlines regrets that a customer travelling on flight SQ285 from Singapore to Auckland on 1 January 2020 had found a screw in one of the meals that was served on board .

“We sincerely apologise to the customer for this unfortunate incident and the distress it had caused.

“We immediately worked with our catering provider to inspect all kitchen equipment and utensils.

“Staff were also reminded to observe strict food-handling safety procedures.

“In order to prevent any similar re-occurrence, our caterer implemented metal detection for all meals prepared at their facility and they also exploring new kitchen utensils that can reduce this risk.

“We expect all of our meals to meet consistently high safety standards and we are disappointed by this discovery.”

Now, if I find a thumbtack in my Chicken Rice and the stall owner says he is “disappointed by the discovery”, I might just burst into flames out of anger.

But, alas, as our parents used to say: life is unfair.

Just be extra careful when you’re eating airplane food. It might be a human tooth you find the next time.