Where in the state constitution does it say citizens can't bring their lunch to work? That is the problem, NOT religion.

Somebody may slip anthrax onto an airline tray from their baloney sandwich.

... the employer has to provide food that it's employees can eat. Period.

People suffer from food allergies, someone could become ill eating something they did not know they were eating.

one has to wonder whether that same food was part of the product, ie, put into the meals they prepared for airline passengers, which necessarily include vegetarian and kosher, or pig-free, meals.

Is there a bigger story here?

And is the employee breakroom somehow connected to the tray assembly line? If they wanted to smuggle something in, there are plenty of other places to hide poisons, etc., than in one's own lunch bag.

... it would be the corporation, not the employees. Sound like they have the employees pretty much controlled. If the employer can't furnish and guarantee what's in the food that they are feeding the employees for lunch, and provide the foods that are kosher for the different ethnicities (America is a melting pot, after all), what then? Farm the food preparation out to a third world country? Robots? I think this whole hullabaloo is a bit much ado about nothing. IMHO, this sounds more like a weird case of discrimination on part of the company.

I didn't know they had any different dietary customs from the average western European. Something about Lent, perhaps?

If this case is now before the state Supreme Court, the events happened some time ago. Your surmise of Lent is the most likely.