Fancy food ain’t safe food – cruise ship edition

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released a report documenting the unsanitary conditions that led to one of the world’s most luxurious cruise ships failing a health inspection last month.

The report on the surprise inspection of Silversea Cruises’ 382-passenger Silver Shadow says inspectors found raw, cooked and love.boat.cyclosporaready-to-eat foods improperly stored under the cabin beds of crew members who worked in the ship’s galley.

Food also was stored on the floors of crew cabins, as was equipment used to prepare food for passengers such as a meat slicer and serving trays, the report says.

The report suggests crew members of the ship had sought to hide the food items and equipment from inspectors after they boarded the ship.

“An organized effort was made to physically remove over 15 full trolleys of 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 to over 10 individual cabins shared by two or three galley crew members in order to avoid inspection,” the report notes.

In what is a rare occurrence for modern day vessels, the CDC gave the ship — an all-suite icon of luxury cruising that boasts rooms for two starting at over $1,000 a night — a failing score of 82 out of 100.

The report also listed a number of cases of crew members suffering from diarrhea that were not properly reported, and errors in the cooling process for the walk-in refrigeration of the La Terraza restaurant that suggests food may have been improperly stored.

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About Douglas Powell

A former professor of food safety and the publisher of barfblog.com, Powell is passionate about food, has five daughters, and is an OK goaltender in pickup hockey. Download Doug’s CV here. Dr. Douglas Powell editor, barfblog.com retired professor, food safety 3/289 Annerley Rd Annerley, Queensland 4103 dpowell29@gmail.com 61478222221 I am based in Brisbane, Australia, 15 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time