Few weeks ago I took a Korean Air flight from ICN to VVO. In order to maintain my vegan diet, I ordered the 'oriental vegetarian meal' which was clearly labeled, "Does not contain any meat, fish, egg or milk product." I was flabbergasted to find that one of the products served with my meal contained sodium caseinate (a milk derivative).
I was told that there would be no milk product in my meal, yet there was milk product in my meal. I have been lied to. This raised my concern especially because sodium caseinate is one of the major allergens in milk. A lot of people would have automatically assumed that the meal would contain zero milk product, because, well, that's what they were told. What would happen if they neglected to scrutinize the labels, because they trusted the airline? Also, the label was in English, so a Korean or Russian passenger who didn't know English may not even be able to identify that there's milk protein in their meal. A person could have gone into anaphylactic shock 22000 feet above the ground.
I sent them an e-mail addressing my concerns, but the reply I received said that it's okay because "according to the FDA regulations products containing milk protein are allowed to be labeled non-dairy". What the actual fuck? I don't care what USFDA has to say. They told me that there is no milk product in my meal, so there should be no milk product in my meal, period. I mean, how is USFDA regulation even relevant? Its "KOREAN AIR" flight from SOUTH KOREA to RUSSIA.
I wrote them back, but I have not received any reply for over 10 days. Either my e-mail magically disappeared or they are just ignoring my message. Either way, it is clear that they have no concept of food safety and furthermore have zero intention to fix their problems when it is pointed out.
I hope no one dies because of their inability to keep their own word. If you are flying Korean Air beware of the milk protein in your food!
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