Air Serbia Catering passes rigorous food safety audit

Air Serbia Catering, a subsidiary of the national airline of the Republic of Serbia, has passed a demanding and internationally-recognised food safety audit.

The catering company met all the standards of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) audit, a global benchmark in the food and beverages industry for evaluating the handling, preparation and storage of food.

The audit puts a particular focus on the systems and processes put in place to ensure that strict kitchen standards, such as labelling food with dates and shelf lives, as well as cold storage and temperature controls, are maintained.

The HACCP audit was conducted by food experts from SGS Serbia, a subsidiary of the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company.

Puniša Zdravković (fifth from left), General Manager of Air Serbia Catering, is joined by key members of his team in celebrating the company being awarded a HACCP food safety certificate.

Dane Kondić, Chief Executive Officer of Air Serbia, said: “Passing the HACCP audit is a fantastic achievement for our catering team that demonstrates their commitment to the highest levels of food safety.

“Air Serbia is known for its quality inflight meals, which are prepared with fresh and locally-sourced ingredients, and this certification shows that food safety is at the heart of our food production chain.

“Guests can enjoy our wide selection of delicious inflight meals knowing that they have been handled and prepared in a safe, hygienic and sanitary manner, from the moment the ingredients were delivered to Air Serbia Catering to the moment they are served onboard our aircraft.

“This certification is the result of months of hard work and reflects both the professionalism of our catering team and Air Serbia’s dedication to establishing global best practices across the business.”

Air Serbia Catering prepares up to 14,000 meals a day, including all the dishes served onboard Air Serbia’s flights.

Over the past two years, Air Serbia has on average served more than 40 tonnes of cheese, two million bottles of Serbian water and upwards of 50,000 bottles of Serbian wine onboard its flights annually.

In addition, the airline uses more than 50 tonnes of meat and fish in its meals every year, with the majority of its ingredients and beverages sourced locally from local suppliers, making a significant contribution to the Serbian economy.

The airline’s onboard menus are refreshed every three months following a rigorous taste-testing process and each dish is meticulously crafted by seasoned chefs under the leadership of Head Chef Zoran Mišković.