It’s not enough that you now have to pay for it, and it still tastes like crap (just like the good old days when it was free).

It turns out that airline food may also be injurious to your health:

Many meals served to passengers on major airlines are prepared in unsanitary and unsafe conditions that could lead to illness, government documents examined by USA TODAY show.

Food and Drug Administration inspectors have cited numerous catering facilities that prepare airline food for suspected health and sanitation violations following inspections of their kitchens this year and last, according to inspection reports obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

The inspections were at the U.S. facilities of two of the world’s biggest airline caterers, LSG Sky Chefs and Gate Gourmet, and another large caterer, Flying Food Group.

The three caterers operate 91 kitchens that provide more than 100 million meals annually to U.S. and foreign airlines at U.S. airports. They provide meals for nearly all big airlines, including Delta, American, United, US Airways and Continental.

The FDA reports say many facilities store food at improper temperatures, use unclean equipment and employ workers who practice poor hygiene. At some, there were cockroaches, flies, mice and other signs of inadequate pest control.

“In spite of best efforts by the FDA and industry, the situation with in-flight catered foods is disturbing, getting worse and now poses a real risk of illness and injury to tens of thousands of airline passengers on a daily basis,” says Roy Costa, a consultant and public health sanitarian.

Conditions open the door to food-poisoning outbreaks, says Costa, a former Florida state food inspector who volunteered to review the FDA reports obtained by USA TODAY.

It’s not terribly reassuring that the collective response of airlines and their caterers seems to be denial:

All three caterers say they work hard to ensure food is safe. And airlines say they monitor the food that goes onto their planes.

Really? They monitor the food that goes onto their planes? How? Maybe I just never noticed the lines at the airport where airline food has to take off its shoes and walk through scanners.

But let’s have a hearing on Capitol Hill, by all means, and ask the airlines about their food-monitoring programs.