Friday, July 26, 2013

Cruise ship kitchen nightmare: Luxury liner fails health inspection after staff send photos of unrefrigerated blue cheese and raw meat stored in crew cabins

Another post on John's Naval, Marine and other Service news

Cruise ship kitchen nightmare: Luxury liner fails health inspection after staff send photos of unrefrigerated blue cheese and raw meat stored in crew cabins

Health officials conducted a surprise inspection of the Silversea ship Silver Shadow at Skagway, Alaska on June 17
Came after disgusted employees revealed they were forced to hide 15 trolleys worth of food in their cabins every night 'in order to avoid inspection' and took photos of raw meat sitting in a sink
The CDC released a damning report about the ship, but it does not have the authority to fine the company or stop it sailing
Passengers pay $5,000 a week and are told they will receive a 'world class' culinary experience
Silversea Cruises claims the abysmal inspection results are a 'deeply disappointing' anomaly

PUBLISHED: 14:11 GMT, 25 July 2013 | UPDATED: 16:00 GMT, 25 July 2013

A cruise ship that charges passengers $5,000 a week for a 'world class' culinary experience has been caught storing meat unrefrigerated in crew cabin sinks and trolleys stacked high with blue cheese, milk and eggs in staff corridors.

Disgusted employees, fearing for their health and the health of passengers, anonymously alerted the Centers for Disease Control to the conditions aboard the Silversea Shadow by sending in photos of piled up food sitting for hours everywhere but the ship's galley.

The tip prompted a surprise health inspection by the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program on June 17, when the ship was docked at Skagway, Alaska.

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Ship: The Silversea Shadow, pictured, has been caught storing meat unrefrigerated in crew cabin sinks and trolleys full of blue cheese, milk and eggs in staff corridors

Gross: Anonymous crew members took photos of raw meat that they were forced to store in crew cabin sinks at potentially hazardous temperatures

Gross: Anonymous crew members took photos of raw meat, pictured, that they were forced to store in crew cabin sinks at potentially hazardous temperatures

Horrified officials discovered there was an 'organized effort to physically remove' more than 15 trolleys stacked high with food and cooking equipment each night into some 10 crew cabins - each sleeping two or three people - to avoid inspections.

One staffer, working a 40-day contract as a pastry chef on the Silversea Cruises-owned vessel, claimed he was forced to sleep in a cabin with two other crew members and a trolley full of salami and unrefrigerated blue cheese to avoid health inspections.

Adriano Colonna told CNN he was so repulsed, he refused to eat the food being served to passengers.

Silversea boasts in advertisements and on its website of serving up world class cuisine aboard its line of luxury cruise ships, that hold around 300 passengers.

Trolleys: Some 15 trolleys of food, including cheeses and deli meats, were stored each night in staff cabins to avoid inspections

But the VSP disagreed, giving the Shadow a damning score of 82 in the inspection when anything under an 84 is a fail.

In its scathing report, the officials said 'dry foods, spices, canned foods, cooked foods, milk, raw meats, pasteurized eggs, cheeses of all types, baking goods, raw fruits, raw vegetables, and a variety of both hand held and counter model food equipment, pans, dishware and utensils' were piled up and stored in some 10 crew cabins, each sleeping two to three workers.

It said foods such as cheeses, sliced and full pieces of deli meats and raw pork were all stored at potentially hazardous temperatures on the deck, and even on and under the beds of crew members.

Kitchen equipment including knives and a large meat slicers were found hidden under blankets in the cabins.

Equipment: Kitchen equipment including a large meat slicer and kitchen knives were discovered hidden under blankets and beds in crew cabins

World class: The company boasts of offering a world class culinary experience, but at least two people aboard the ship became sick presumably from the food, pictured, aboard

The company told CNN that the liner was 'deeply disappointed' by the score and that the result of the inspection was an anomaly, as they're used to getting grades in the high 90s.

The spokesman refused to say who gave the command to hide food in cabins or whether anyone was fired.

On the VSP's website, it inticates at least two cases of diarrhea among staff on the ship, no doubt caused by eating the hygienically kept food.

But despite the abysmal score, all the VSP inspectors could do was pour chlorine liquid over the discarded food to prevent it from being used. They do not have the power to slap the liner with a fine or stop the ship sailing.

Silversea simply has to submit corrective action statements for deficiencies.

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Friday, July 26, 2013