Recycled food in the MDR

[Elaine5715]

Sorry, I never believe a first post that is a wild story or complaint. You never cared to post to CC (no pre cruise questions or comments) at all yet you must tell us about this alleged bread situation?

Yep....

[Elaine5715]

There is never any bread leftover at my table so you are welcome.

[Shaded Lady]

If y'all are grossed out by this, I suggest you avoid eating in most restaurants, especially fast food restaurants... their practices to save money and for convenience would probably turn your stomach! Even if the restaurant doesn't practice such actions, lots of lazy servers and cooks still do things that are not right.

 

As someone else posted earlier, ignorance is bliss.

 

And OP- I don't blame you for being more observant after this... when the offense is blatant like this, we all would be more aware!

[Stelya]

Sorry, I never believe a first post that is a wild story or complaint. You never cared to post to CC (no pre cruise questions or comments) at all yet you must tell us about this alleged bread situation?

 

I have "never cared to post a question or comment" before because I have observed I can use the search tool to find answers to all of my questions previously without starting a repeated thread. Even though I have cruised several times, I haven't felt like I had any new info or tidbits to share that more seasoned cruisers haven't already shared. As this experience was new for me and I hadn't read about it before, I was stepping into the shark invested waters of being a first time poster. I agree ignorance is bliss and would love to have not had the experience. Once again, the cruise was awesome...just sharing...take it or leave it.

[sfaaa]

If y'all are grossed out by this, I suggest you avoid eating in most restaurants, especially fast food restaurants... their practices to save money and for convenience would probably turn your stomach! Even if the restaurant doesn't practice such actions, lots of lazy servers and cooks still do things that are not right.

!

 

Many national fast food chain restaurants like Mickey D's and others actually have fairly high standard for cleanliness. They have an international image to protect and corp head office won't take it kindly if a local operator has poor cleanliness record or bad write-up in the media. It is the independent fast food joints that are the questionable ones.

[bury me at sea]

I have "never cared to post a question or comment" before because I have observed I can use the search tool to find answers to all of my questions previously without starting a repeated thread. Even though I have cruised several times, I haven't felt like I had any new info or tidbits to share that more seasoned cruisers haven't already shared. As this experience was new for me and I hadn't read about it before, I was stepping into the shark invested waters of being a first time poster. I agree ignorance is bliss and would love to have not had the experience. Once again, the cruise was awesome...just sharing...take it or leave it.

 

Don't lose any sleep over that comment. We all have different reasons for our first post and yours was as legitimate as any other.

 

I've read that sort of thing before and it's laughable and meaningless.

 

Happy sailing.

[summersigh]

If the food meets health standard, it's fine to re serve or send to crew cafeteria . But once it is touched by a passenger's bare hand or exposed to potential health hazard , the deal is off.

I see it as 2 different issues - like sfaaa I think if it's been touched by passengers no recycling ,,,, (like the bread in a basket left on the table for the meal) as opposed to items served by staff (like the pastries served from a platter by waiters on the last Sunshine cruise we were on)

[HeresTweety]

We were on the Carnival Breeze in December 2016 and bread was never left on the table. It was offered to us, picked up with tongs and laid on our plate.

[Mary Ellen1]

There is never any bread leftover at my table so you are welcome.

 

Elaine for the win! :D

[emcelh]

This is pretty gross....but another question is...who on earth would put their gum in the bread basket in the first place?!

 

 

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The OPs description made it sound as if the gum was inside the bread

[HighCPU]

There is never any bread leftover at my table so you are welcome.

 

 

Thank you!

 

 

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[Stelya]

The OPs description made it sound as if the gum was inside the bread

 

Yes it was inside the bread. The bread had been sliced, chewed gum deposited, and I guess when the basket was being refilled, the servers did not realize that piece of bread had been tampered with.

[HighCPU]

Yikes these kinds of stories keep my germ a phobic mom away from cruises. Would never get her on a ship

 

 

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[stealthy]

When I receive a bread roll at dinner and don't actually eat it for what ever reason, I always cut it in half just so it can't be reused. Always!

[chengkp75]

I will not try to explain away the gum in the bread, nor do I understand how it came to be there, or why. I will comment on the "recycling of food" topic.

 

USPH food safety regulations, which are more stringent than 80% of local/state health laws, require "potentially hazardous food" (primarily meats, fish, dairy, but also cooked vegetables) to be handled under either "temperature control" or "time control".

 

Temperature control means that the food, once cooked, is kept at a minimum temperature in a device that can be shown to have accurate temperature regulation, like an oven, a pressure cooker, or a warming cart. Food kept under temperature control, if unused, can then be flash chilled down to 37*F and placed in a cooler for reuse.

 

Any time food is taken from temperature control, whether that is being placed on a buffet steam table, the plating station steam table in the main galley, or cooked on a grill or open pan (like a steak, chop, or hotdog), it is now under "time control". Time control means that after 4 hours it must be discarded. No questions. And once under time control, food cannot be placed back under temperature control. So, even food that has not left the galley, if not under temperature control, must be discarded at the end of meal service. So I seriously doubt the hotdogs were recycled from late night to breakfast. While crew could get away with doing this, getting into the habit of doing so leaves them open to continuing the mistake during a USPH inspection, with the resultant failing score, and remedial action required. So, the crew typically follows the regulations so that "muscle memory" keeps them good during inspections.

 

Baked goods like bread and rolls are not considered to be "potentially hazardous foods", so are not on time/temp control, but the handling of it by guests does create a potential for cross-contamination if bread is left from one serving to another. I will say that it is common practice at nearly all establishments to do this, though the use of tongs is preferred. I will have to look up in the USPH VSP to see if there is a prohibition on reserving baked goods if placed where tongs are not used. Okay, just reviewed the section on food safety, and bread baskets, if not easily cleanable (like woven baskets) must be lined with a napkin, and the napkin must be changed between customers. Also, if the bread has not been presented in a fashion to prevent contamination (no tongs), then it cannot be reoffered to a new customer.

[crusinpsychRN]

On Royal Caribbean they do not leave bread baskets on the tables. Instead they come around the tables and offer the bread to you. They give it to you using tongs keeping it as sanitary as possible.

 

Reminds me of a funny story. My kids and I were in London and went to Michael Caine's restaurant. When the waiter came with the bread basket he just looked at us and the table so I started moving all the glasses out of the way so he could set it down. He didn't so I took it from him and set it down. Thought, wow, that's a lot of bread, wonder if the food is so bad they fill you up on bread.

 

Another large group came in and sat down and the waiter approached them with the basket, each person took a piece and the waiter went to the next person. Only then did I realize he wasn't going to leave all that bread for us. I was so embarrassed. I apologized to him saying in America the basket is usually set on the table.

 

Wonder if the room service BLT bacon comes from Lido's breakfast...

[Havingfun2010]

It is my understanding that any food that is not eaten and has been made available to the public cannot be served again to guests. To do so is a major USPH violation. I also understand that if the food is something that some crew members may enjoy, such food may be offered to them.

 

First off, food is always recycled in fast food restaurants. Items left the night before, get a new sticker on in the morning (just in case of a surprise health visit) and mixed into the first days batches. Carnival has changed many of their practices in order to save money, and have created a MDR more like a Denny's.

 

Secondly, if you can't serve it to a guest, than you certainly can't serve it to the crew. They have their own restaurant, and their food is cooked specifically for them. Why would the crew enjoy, recycled food?

[Keys2Heaven]

On Royal Caribbean they do not leave bread baskets on the tables. Instead they come around the tables and offer the bread to you. They give it to you using tongs keeping it as sanitary as possible.

 

Yes, on ALL of our Carnival cruises, they've never left the basket of bread on the table. We've always picked something and the waitstaff served it to us.

[Crusin5252]

During college I worked in the kitchen at an inn located in a state park. The servers were told to put the rolls that were not eaten back in the warmer. You could get rolls that many different people had touched. This was not a cheap restaurant.

[sfaaa]

First off, food is always recycled in fast food restaurants. Items left the night before, get a new sticker on in the morning (just in case of a surprise health visit) and mixed into the first days batches. Carnival has changed many of their practices in order to save money, and have created a MDR more like a Denny's.

 

Secondly, if you can't serve it to a guest, than you certainly can't serve it to the crew. They have their own restaurant, and their food is cooked specifically for them. Why would the crew enjoy, recycled food?

 

Sensational much? You obviously have never worked in a fast food restaurant before. When do you see fast food restaurants serve dinner items instead of breakfast menu in the morning? But I am not surprised this is coming from you.

[jma624]

During college I worked in the kitchen at an inn located in a state park. The servers were told to put the rolls that were not eaten back in the warmer. You could get rolls that many different people had touched. This was not a cheap restaurant.

 

I also worked at a nice-r restaurant in college where not only were the rolls / bread that were not "broken" re-warmed and re-served, but "broken" bread/rolls left in the baskets were kept in a large bin to be used as breadcrumbs, stuffing, etc.

 

We also served salads "Family-style" a large bowl of lettuce with piles of tomatoes, carrots, peppers and cukes on the top served with tongs and individual bowls for the customers to serve themselves. Afterward, remains in the large bowl were broken down to be re-served.

 

Ironically, I also worked at a McD's where I was once reprimanded for placing a sealed, single-serve milk carton that had fallen on the floor back into the milk crate.

"anything that hits the floor has to be thrown out" I was told.

[sfaaa]

 

Ironically, I also worked at a McD's where I was once reprimanded for placing a sealed, single-serve milk carton that had fallen on the floor back into the milk crate.

"anything that hits the floor has to be thrown out" I was told.

 

Yeah, and any item exceeding a preset holding time period also gets thrown out and written off as food waste because food quality and taste have been comprimised.

[Havingfun2010]

Sensational much? You obviously have never worked in a fast food restaurant before. When do you see fast food restaurants serve dinner items instead of breakfast menu in the morning? But I am not surprised this is coming from you.

 

Well, I have worked in fast food restaurants, and whether you want to believe it or not, food is often re-used the next day, against the rules, and certainly not safe, but it is in order to cut down on waste. Often times, it's mixed in with fresh food. Many packages required to be opened, and used, or thrown out, will never be thrown out. Food often left over the night before, can be and often is recycled into a new dish. I also did not say dinner items are used for breakfast, but many places stay open late, and will start serving lunch at 10:30. It's easy to toss a cooked hamburger into the cooler and reheat it the next morning. They don't taste good anyway, but so no one notices. Just put extra mustard on it to mask the flavor.

 

The poster had a complaint about recycled food. There is no reason not to believe the complaint.

[Havingfun2010]

Yeah, and any item exceeding a preset holding time period also gets thrown out and written off as food waste because food quality and taste have been comprimised.

 

That's the rule, but many places will not follow it. Not many franchise owners will toss that much food out, when profits are slim.

[perditax]

In the social media age, I'm pretty sure your typical large fast-food chain would have disgruntled ex-employees posting videos of these practices all over YouTube if they were actually happening that egregiously.

 

Not a fan of fast food, but have definitely noticed the McDs and Taco Bells in my area have far higher sanitation scores than the local eateries.