If you’re visiting Arrowhead Stadium for a Chiefs or Kauffman Stadium for a Royals game, you may want to make sure your belly is completely full. A recent inspection done by the city’s health department in November showed several important health code violations.
Among the concerns found at the stadiums by the manager: cockroaches in vending areas, mouse feces on the same tray as pizza dough, sinks where employees were supposed to wash their hands being blocked by boxes or trash, employees eating in food prep areas and trays of food headed for customers that measured at unsafe temperatures. The health department found several critical violations, including mold growth in ice machines, dirty pans and trays and excessive numbers of fruit flies.
“When we lose control over hygienic practices and we also combine that with poor temperature control — that could be a catastrophe,” said Jon Costa, the district food safety manager for Aramark, which runs the concessions at both venues and has food and beverage contracts with 30 professional sports teams. “That is a recipe for foodborne illness. … It’s very likely temperatures are abused every game. Every game.”
Costa said he had tried on several occasions to get Aramark’s senior management to address the issues and employees about violating food code standards but to no avail. He then felt he had no choice but to inform media outlets about what was going on. Aramark has placed him on paid administrative leave for violating their media policy.
Marc Bruno, chief operating officer of Aramark Sports and Entertainment, said last week that Costa’s photographs and descriptions were “just allegations at this point,” and the company has addressed problems that Costa has raised throughout his 2½ years with the company.
“It’s completely contrary to everything that we have done in there,” Bruno said. “Food safety is the top priority, No. 1 at Aramark and No. 1 in Kansas City and all our operations.” He said both venues are routinely inspected by the City of Kansas City, Missouri, Health Department, which has awarded a number of concession stand food safety excellence awards at the stadiums in the past.
Tod MacKenzie, senior vice president of communications and public affairs for Aramark, also wrote a detailed response to “Outside the Lines.”
“The unsubstantiated claims raised by a disgruntled employee are very troubling, as is his unknown motivation,” MacKenzie said. “Especially disturbing is the fact that this individual is personally responsible and entrusted with managing food safety at the locations in question. …
“The random collection of isolated and questionable photographs that the employee distributed represents selective snapshot ‘moments-in-time’ that without proper context can support any number of conclusions.”
It’s hard to imagine that the word allegations would be used to describe the several photos submitted by Costa, but this is the route that Aramark has chosen to take.
CLICK TO SEE MORE PHOTOS OF FOOD CODE VIOLATONS AT KC STADIUMS!!!
[h/t ESPN]