Lindsey Bomnin

When you order food on a plane, there's a chance it was preheated for you on the tarmac — unintentionally. Airplane food is made at catering facilities at or near airports, usually by one of a group of large firms that contract with airlines. The food is brought to planes by hydraulic delivery trucks, which — according to workers — aren't always temperature controlled.

Jason Alderman was hungry. It was the beginning of his regular Sunday night commute from San Francisco to Boston, but unlike most weeks, he hadn't grabbed food before boarding his plane. So that June 2018 evening, the public relations executive did something he'd sworn he'd never do again: He ate the in-flight meal. Sitting in business class, he ordered the duck ravioli after he says the flight attendant assured him it was "very good." But a few hours later, Alderman knew something was wrong.