For my first blog i am choosing the foods that are being served at sporting events. Almost all chilled food served at professional sporting events and leisure events falls below basic hygiene standards. I know when we see that greasy sausage with onions and peppers our mouths water , cause mine certainly does. but after i read some facts on concession food i may think twice next time.
Last year all but half of the meals/ items were tested at four major events passed industry standards and public health guidelines. Some of the serious breaches included listeria in a smoked salmon sandwich, e .coli in a crepe and staphylococcus in a grilled chicken caesar salad. Only a third of the food tested managed a clean bill of health and a fifth had "unacceptably high" levels of bacteria caused by faecal contamination. Because of this a food safety consultant and a microbiologist were sent to events held between december and march in a stadium in london. The inspectors bought 93 hot, chilled and room temperature foods from 47 food vans and stalls across 4 events. Each of the samples were tested in a lab for a range of bacteria including e.coli, bacillus, listeria, salmonella and mold. All of the chilled food at 2 events failed the test from either wrong storage or contaminated by dirty hands. Only a quarter of the foods sampled at 2 events passed the tests. Inspectors found e.coli which can cause diarrhoea and vomiting. They found staphylococcus aureaus, which can cause stomach upsets. Also listeria was found in a smoked salmon sandwich which can cause septicaemia and miscarriage in pregnant women.
These cases were found overseas in london, but how do we know here in the states there arent cases like this we dont hear about. When i go to a sporting event i admit i buy a lot of food from concessions. Now that i have heard about foods failing tests i may just think about eating before hand or just being a little more carefull.
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3 comments:
I found this to be a very interesting article because I did my first blog on food contamination as well. It's intriguing to see how unsanitary our food is and how we as a society fail to think twice about it. We'd rather pay the cheap price for unhealthy but convient food than take the extra ten minutes to pack a snack or lunch that's healthier and has a much lower risk of being contaminated. Rob article also shows how high the contamination rate really is. We think that contamination happens rarely, but it really happens all the time. We're a blind society. If our culture was really aware of how dangerous stadium food is, maybe more people would think twice about buying cheap food and more about preparing a safe, healthy option. Unfortunately, not enough people care about their health to focus on making sanitary changes.
I really found your blog interesting. It amazes me how concessions continue to stay open like this under their disgusting, unsanitary food and cleanliness. I don't understand why the board of health does not shut them down. I have grown up in the restaurant business, and month after month the Board of Health comes in and tells us if the soup is too hot or the fridge is not closed as tightly as possible. These concessions and food stands are definitely bypassing food board requirements. I'm curious if they can ignore these places because of the amount of money the sports function brings in. I will definitely reconsider my temptation for a snack at half time, next time!
wow im surprised the board of health doesnt crack down on food at sporting events. Interesting article.
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