Air Canada is investigating after a passenger reportedly was injured by what appeared to be a sewing needle found in a sandwich during a flight from Victoria to Toronto, CBC News has learned.

Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said that immediately after the discovery, the airline contacted the catering companies that prepare its meals. He said a passenger had reported finding the object.

The airline has not disclosed whether the passenger who found the needle was injured. But Peel Regional Police Const. George Tudos told CBC News that the passenger who discovered the needle did suffer minor injuries.

Detectives from the police criminal investigation bureau are at the preliminary stages of their investigation into the "suspicious circumstance" and will speak to the passenger. Police are trying to confirm the origin of the sandwich.

Fitzpatrick said Air Canada was co-operating with police. There have been no further reports of similar incidents on its flights.

In his statement to CBC News, the airline's spokesman said safety is a top priority and Air Canada is working with its caterers to ensure heightened security measures are put in place.

Caterer 'co-operating fully'Christina Ulosevich, a spokeswoman for caterer Gate Gourmet Canada, confirmed her company was informed of the incident on Monday, as part of the airline's process of notifying its caterers about the discovery.

"While we are not Air Canada's catering provider out of Victoria, we are co-operating fully with Air Canada and have complied with our customer's request to its caterers to heighten food safety procedures, including inspection and screening of all products boarded on flights," Ulosevich said in a statement emailed to CBC News Tuesday evening. "We are working closely to support our customer, including co-operating with the authorities investigating the incident."

Air Canada has not revealed the names of all its catering companies, but spokeswoman Angela Mah confirmed to CBC News that Gate Gourmet is among them.

U.S. authorities, meanwhile, launched an investigation after a number of needles were found aboard four Delta Air Lines flights from Amsterdam,The Associated Press reported earlier this month.

Those sandwiches were believed to have originated in Gate Gourmet's Amsterdam kitchen, and were to be served to business class passengers on Delta flights, according to that report.

Peel police told CBC News on Wednesday that at the moment, there is no evidence to connect Monday's incident with other similar discoveries.



In case you haven't heard about previous discoveries: