American Airlines pilots based in or transiting Phoenix are being warned by their union not to eat tiramisu served on crew meal trays. The Allied Pilots Association's Aeromedical-HIMS Committee says the dessert, provided by a contracted caterer, contains alcohol that may not have cooked off, and the union cannot determine how much alcohol remains in each serving or what impact that might have if a pilot is tested.
The union is working with the Phoenix Flight Office to have the tiramisu removed and replaced. Until then, pilots should accept incomplete meals rather than eat the dessert. Those who consumed it and worry about being fit to fly should contact their union representatives.
The concern centers on pilots undergoing alcohol abstinence monitoring after treatment, a stricter testing regime that can detect alcohol metabolites even after the alcohol itself clears the system. A Delta pilot previously challenged a positive test he attributed to pulled pork cooked in beer, though the case was sent back on appeal when the Federal Aviation Administration had not adequately addressed his evidence.
Alcohol is not necessary to make tiramisu. The small amount in an individual dessert portion would likely be undetectable in standard testing hours later, but could temporarily inflate a breath reading or trigger abstinence monitoring protocols.