Report: Kauffman Stadium served old food during World Series

They love a good pre-game tailgate in Kansas City, both Royals fans and Chiefs fans. After a new report by ESPN's "Outside the Lines," it'll be hard to blame Kansas City sports fans if they only want to eat their own tailgate food from outside the stadium.

A manager from the concessions company that services both Kauffman Stadium and Arrowhead Stadium spilled dirty details to ESPN and the local health department about food violations going on at the stadiums, including during the World Series, when Royals' food stations allegedly sold expired food to fans.

Immediately after hearing the allegations, inspectors from the Kansas City Health Department found 37 violations that it deemed "critical," according to ESPN, including violations at 20 of 26 food stands. This inspection happened on Nov. 3, the day after a Chiefs game, and five days after Game 7 of the World Series.

The details in the ESPN report, which come from food safety manager Jon Costa, are likely to make you lose your appetite. You've been warned.

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 alerted the media only after trying, in vain, to get Aramark senior management to step in. He doesn't have authority over the employees who needed to be reprimanded, he told ESPN. He has since been placed on paid administrative leave.

Fact is, food preparation on this scale, even when done within code, is full of things that the average person might think twice about. It's one of those "You don't want to see how the sausage is made" things in life. But we still expect basic principles of food safety to be followed, even though we know we're not eating at a five-star restaurant.

So in that respect, some of what's in the ESPN report might make you lose faith in the stadium concession business anywhere. Costa also shared a story about expired pizza dough being cooked and served to customers during Game 7 of the World Series. "Outside the Lines" confirmed his description with two other employees.

In response, Aramark said there were "no issues" with food during Game 7 of the World Series. The Aramark COO said he was even at Kauffman Stadium that night and ate pizza. He further told ESPN that he has confidence in his company's procedures.

Both the Royals and Chiefs issued statements, but didn't address the health concerns directly. Rather, they said Aramark is a "valued" and "important" partner. Aramark, meanwhile, is painting Costa as a "disgruntled employee" with "unknown motivation."

Finger pointing won't instill much confidence in consumers, though. Not when they can tailgate outside the stadium or hit up a local favorite like Oklahoma Joe's before driving to the game.