The Worst Food Safety Violations in MLB Stadiums in 2010

Concession stands and fast foods represent a big chunk of the business for every sport franchise. Every spectator in the audience pays the inflated buck to buy at least one food item and a beverage from the stadium concessions (and huge bucks for the ticket – all in the hope of seeing their team light up the baseball scoreboards!). However, with the pressure to feed approximately 52,000 people in one night, do the spectators get their money’s worth when it comes to food hygiene? Let’s take a baseball scoreboards look at which baseball stadiums violated the state’s food safety protocols in 2010.

Progressive Field – there were no critical violations, however, a total of 8 minor violations were recorded by the Cleveland Department of Public Health. Out of the 8, the highlighted violations included pooled water in one cooler and some minor issues with the stadium building.

Turner Field – Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness reported only a few minor violations, which included dirty surfaces and improper permits and posters in the kitchen.

The Ball Park in Arlington – upon inspection, only a few minor violations pertaining to the general cleanliness of the concession stands were found.

Fenway Park – The Mayor’s Food Court (Boston) found 1 critical and 3 minor violation at Fenway Park. The violations included stale encrusted ice in the ice machine and the failure of the employees to sanitize can openers.

Petco Park – The Food Facility Inspection of San Diego found 2 critical and a few minor violations. Some of the minor violations included incorrect use of food storage spaces, and storing prepared food at improper temperatures.

PNC Park – The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture reported 3 critical and 11 minor violations. These violations included the storage of raw meat, cheese and hot dogs at the wrong temperatures and no hand wash lubricants at hand washing stands.

Dodger Stadium – the county of Los Angeles found 4 critical and more than 100 minor violations at Dodger. The most highlighted violations included storing pasteurized eggs at an unsafe temperature and the general uncleanliness of all the concession stands.

Minute Maid Park – 8 critical and 33 minor violations were reported at Minute Maid Park. The violations that were highlighted by the City of Houston were that the salad bad was stored at improper temperatures and without a sneeze guard. Other violations included general employee cleanliness and problems pertaining to the cleanliness of ice machines.

AT & T Park – the state department of public health found 8 critical and 117 minor violations at the stadium. The violations highlighted by the department included storage of hot dogs below legal temperatures, unclean food surfaces, presence of roaches, rodents or flies, and employees handling food without gloves.

Tropicana Field – the state found a staggering 217 critical and 112 minor violation at the park. Some of the highlighted violations included the storage of different kinds of meat together, using the same tongs for handling 2 different meat products, encrusted grime and soil in ice machines and handling food without wearing gloves or dirty gloves.

Source:
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For more information on MLB stadiums, go to:
ballparksofbaseball.com/