The FBI is investigating how needles got into turkey sandwiches on four Delta Air Lines flights from Amsterdam to the U.S.
The airline said that small sewing needles were discovered in six sandwiches on four planes that departed from Holland.
The other needles were on two flights to Atlanta and one to Seattle.
The FBI has opened a criminal investigation into the matter, the agency has said.
The airline has increased security for its meal production and is using more prepackaged food while the investigation continues.
The sandwiches were made in the Amsterdam kitchen of catering company Gate Gourmet, and we're serving business class passengers on Delta flights out of Schiphol Airport.
After the needles were found, passengers got pizza instead.
Gate Gourmet spokeswoman Christina Ulosevich said the company has gotten no reports of similar incidents on any of the other airlines it serves out of Amsterdam.
She said the company did not yet know how the needles got into the sandwiches.
Gate Gourmet issued a statement saying, 'We take this matter very seriously, and we have launched our own full-scale investigation.'
In a statement the airline said: 'Delta is taking this matter extremely seriously and is cooperating with local and federal authorities who are investigating the incident.' (sounds almost identical to the statement made from Gate Gourmet)
One of the passengers traveling on a Delta Airlines flight who ate one of the turkey sandwiches, on his second bite, a one-inch long sewing-type needle pierced the roof of his mouth.
For some reason authorities believe that the needle might be tainted with some form of germ/infectious material, including traces of HIV. The needle is presently undergoing tests, and the victim has been put on a recently FDA approved HIV drug as a precautionary measure.
