Don't Drink the Water

By JANICE CASTRO/

And you thought airline food couldn't get any worse? The cholera epidemic in South America has touched Los Angeles; at least 39 passengers and crew members who arrived last month on an Aerolineas Argentinas flight from Buenos Aires have come down with the disease; one died. Los Angeles health officials, who are still trying to locate other passengers, suspect that airline meals taken on at a stop in Lima were tainted. Other major carriers now are taking special precautions. While American Airlines has eliminated green salads and fresh seafood from its South American menus, Varig copes by loading its planes with extra food from safer sources in Brazil, Chile and Argentina.

With reporting by Wendy Cole