Safe Food at Stadiums

The following article highlights a major concern that can be addressed with proper training. The key if for both management and employees to treat their work similar to their house and that they would not want to be served bad food nor would they want to serve their friends bad food.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/post/Vendors-at-professional-sports-venues-are-dirtie?urn=top-258254

If hefty price tags, long lines and marginal quality hadn't convinced you to avoid eating concessions at professional sporting events, an ESPN report might do the job.

The network recently compiled a list of 2009 health-inspection reports from every major professional sports venue (MLB, NFL, NHL and NBA) in North America and the results were startling.

Health inspectors found rodent droppings, improper hand-washing, bacterial growth, poor refrigeration, expired meat and the presence of toxic material — and those were just the “critical violations.” More than half of the vendors were cited for such violations at one-third of the venues. And at two stadiums, Tropicana Field in Tampa and the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., inspectors cited all of the vendors for critical violations.

Some of the lowlights from the report, courtesy of ESPN:

Verizon Center (Washington D.C.) — Mice droppings, a critical violation in Washington, were found at at least 10 vendors.

Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati) — Inspectors saw an employee scraping food debris from a spatula using the trash bin and then trying to continue using the same spatula without cleaning it.

St. Pete Times Forum (Tampa) — At one location with five critical violations, an inspector saw an employee handle dirty dishes and then put away clean dishes without washing his/her hands or changing gloves. The same location lacked soap at a hand sink.

Staples Center (Los Angeles) — One stand dumped 9.5 pounds of sushi after inspectors found that it had become too warm.

One could argue that if you're ordering sushi at a basketball game, you're playing with fire, but it’s reasonable for fans to expect that whatever food they're ordering at a game is safe and properly handled.

[America's best baseball stadiums]

It should be noted that each state has different inspection requirements, so an 84 percent violation rate at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa doesn't necessarily mean that the vendors there are six times as dirty as ones at Candlestick Park (13 percent). Florida had the worst overall violation rate, but that’s likely a result of tougher inspection criteria rather than a systemic statewide penchant for improperly washed sinks.

Chicago stadiums had the lowest percentage of vendors with critical violations; that could be because city inspectors make their visits when the stadiums are empty and no employee is handling or serving food. (Gotta lova that Chicago political machine.) Canada also had low violation rates for each venue.

Gillette Stadium (New England Patriots) and Nassau Coliseum (New York Islanders) fared the best; no vendor at either stadium was cited for a critical violation.

Food safety

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussions: Industry Affairs Council and Assembly Managers Open Forum .
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As you are already aware, ESPN is scheduled to air a story about food safety in stadiums and arenas across North America on its "Outside the Lines" program. It is our understanding that it may run as soon as this Sunday, July 25.

In anticipation of potential follow-up questions from local media outlets, we recommend the following if and when you are contacted by a reporter:
• Untrained personnel in secured areas always create an added security risk. If you receive requests by camera crews or reporters for behind-the-scenes access to areas where food is prepared (i.e. kitchens, concession stands, pantries, vending rooms, warehouse), we encourage you to politely decline those opportunities.
• Your food and beverage partner is highly skilled in answering questions about food safety issues. If you receive questions about your food operations, consult with your food and beverage partner before granting on-camera interviews or providing statements regarding food safety and health inspections.
• Provide spokesperson contact information for the IAAM and National Restaurant Association (NRA) to address this topic for the industry.
o IAAM: Kris Williams, (972) 538-1006, kris.williams@...
o NRA: Sue Hensley, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs Communications, (202) 331-5964, SHensley@...

Following airing of the story, the IAAM has a statement it would like to share on behalf of the industry. This statement will be posted on our website - www.IAAM.org.

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Richard Andersen CFE
Chair, Industry Affairs Council

President & CEO
Northlands
Edmonton AB
(780) 471-3380
Canada
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