Food at Royals’ Kaufman Stadium deemed ‘safe to eat’ by health officials

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Food booths at Kauffman Stadium are open again this season after health inspectors found moldy and expired food from the World Series.

The Kansas City Health Department cited Aramark for critical violations at 20 concession stands at Kauffman Stadium just after the Royals 2014 playoff run.

“They had violations severe enough that it was not OK to just leave them as they were,” said Jeff Hershberger, public information officer for the Kansas City Health Department.

City health inspectors visited the food booths the same day an Aramark employee filed a complaint against his company for moldy and expired food.  As we reported, that employee has since been fired.

“Yes, we did find moldy food, spoiled food, food out of date,” Hershberger said.

The health department has since changed Aramark's status from low to medium risk, meaning more follow-ups and unannounced inspections.

“[Aramark] did a massive cleaning of all the booths,” said Hershberger.

Aramark told us in a statement that they've increased training and hired a third party to do extra inspections and that their food is "safe."

“Food safety is a top priority that we take very seriously everywhere we operate.  Our processes and procedures are industry leading and if questions are raised, we fix them quickly.  In addition to working with local health departments, we also conduct frequent internal inspections and take the added step of engaging independent third-party auditors to objectively evaluate our practices.

“The questions raised last year in Kansas City were quickly resolved as the Health Department affirmed.  We have continued to work closely with the Health Department on our commitment to food safety -- further enhancing our training and reinforcing proper practices among our employees -- to ensure the safest and most enjoyable experience at the stadiums we serve.