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A Jewish British Airways passenger was left "dismayed" after finding shellfish listed in the ingredients in his Beth Din-certified kosher meal on a flight from Tokyo on Monday.

Dennis Krushner, who designed the UK's first telephone interviewing software for microcomputers in the 1980s, complained to BA about the meal, which was sourced in Lyon and bore a kosher certificate from the Lyon Beth Din. 

Krushner's Mediterranean Salmon meal contained fish stock, two ingredients of which were shellfish and mollusc. Fish require scales and fins to be considered kosher.

"I contacted BA who simply replied, effectively, that it was shame we didn't like the meal even though I pointed out that these ingredients are not kosher," he said.

"Jewish passengers wanting to keep kosher should be aware of the British Airways 'kosher' meals may contain shellfish and mollusc which they would not want to eat."

The airline food kosher certificate, which has shellfish among the ingredients.

A BA customer services representative wrote to Krushner, saying: "You're clearly unhappy with the quality of our food…  We know how important our meal service is to our customers, especially when you have a special dietary requirement."

She continued: "We choose our catering partners carefully and we set very high standards for food preparation. Our suppliers must have strict processes in place to ensure these standards are met."

A BA spokesperson told Jewish News: "We understand the distress this has caused our customer, and we are investigating this as a matter of urgency with our supplier."

The food's kosher certificate is certified by Dayan Yahia Teboul. In a statement on its website, it says: "The Regional Consistory and the Regional Beth Din have put in place a whole system of control in order to guarantee Kosher irreproachable to all the faithful." It adds that its kosher logo "is recognised as a quality reference."

The Lyon Beth Din has been approached for comment.