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Dirty Dining: Food Vendors inside Raymond James Stadium fumbled with serious violations

Posted at 11:09 PM, Nov 20, 2017
and last updated 2017-11-20 23:23:34-05

We met Tracy Lejkowski heading into a Buc's game and she's a season ticket holder.

Tracy goes to every home game at Raymond James Stadium and enjoys chowing down on whatever they're serving up.

"How's the food?" asked ABC Action News anchor Wendy Ryan.

"Lines are a little bit long but otherwise, the food is good," Tracy said.

But Tracy had no idea half of the 47 concession stands inside Raymond James Stadium fumbled on inspections with serious violations.

In a special Dirty Dining I-Team investigation, we uncovered inspectors finding roaches behind three food vendors this last year. 

Roaches spotted inside the 'Chicken Coup' and 'The Galley' on the Main Concourse. 

And more roaches discovered in the 'Suite Pantry' inside the 'Hall of Fame' Club Suites on the 3rd floor Upper Concourse.

But Tracy was not too surprised.

"Unfortunately, I think it's common place these days with a lot of different restaurants and vendors. It's kind of par for the course, unfortunately, and you just kind of keep your fingers crossed and hope you have an iron stomach," Tracy explained, as she laughed.

In all, 24 food vendors had serious violations in 2017 and that includes 12 on the main concourse, 5 on the club concourse and 7 on the upper concourse.

Over the last year, inspectors saw violations 'out of bounds' when it comes to food safety including employees not washing their hands, the hand-sink blocked so employees couldn't use it, no hot water provided or no soap.

They also documented food stored on the floor, other areas covered in standing water, mold in the ice machine and sanitizer not at the proper strength, with equipment and utensils not properly sanitized.

"I think the less we know, the better off we are sometimes," Tracy said.

And despite what Ryan uncovered, Tracy will be back to cheer on the Bucs and gobble up whatever nibbles they sell.  

"So you'll continue to eat there?" Ryan asked.

"Yes, We're brave. We're brave souls," Tracy responded.

Ryan reached out to Aramark, which owns all of the food vendors inside Raymond James Stadium.

No one wanted to go on camera but did supply a statement below:

ARAMARK STATEMENT: 

The safety, health and well-being of fans is always the top priority for Aramark at Raymond James Stadium.  In addition to working closely with the health department, our commitment to food safety starts with a comprehensive approach to training our managers and associates that includes briefing staff before every event; having certified food safety coordinators on-site; conducting regular and frequent audits and quality assurance assessments; and engaging independent auditors to evaluate our practices and bring an increased level of rigor to this critical aspect of our business. When issues arise, we take immediate action to address and correct them. Our industry leading processes and practices ensure the food we serve is great-tasting, high-quality and safe.

David Freireich
Aramark
Corporate Communications