Growing up in Southern Ontario (that’s in Canada) I wasn’t exposed to beach culture. What passed for a beach in the town where I spent my formative years was a rocky spit that couldn’t be walked barefoot (below, exactly as shown). Toronto has The Beach (formerly known as The Beaches) and a bit of sand and a decent boardwalk – but it’s not like the Outer Banks or the Eastern Shore.

There were a couple of concession stands along the Toronto boardwalk and I’d beg my parents for a red slushy – but I don’t remember any other food there. 

According to the Woonsocket Call  three controversial concession stands at Rhode Island’s state beaches were cited for multiple food safety issues and infractions following a set of recent health inspections.

Fly strips hanging over food preparation areas; cans of clam chowder stored in restrooms; mold in ice machines; fish fillets thawing on the counter in stagnant water; and foul, noxious odors coming from grease traps are just some of the more than 70 health and food code violations the state Department of Health recently found at concession stands at Rhode Island’s three state beaches – Misquamicut, Scarborough and Roger Wheeler, The Call and The Times has learned.

According to inspection reports obtained by The Call and The Times, the Rhode Island Department of Heath’s Office of Food Protection conducted a total of five inspections at the concession stands, including three inspections at Misquamicut in Westerly on July 2, 17 and 29; once at Scarborough in Narragansett on July 29; and once at Roger Wheeler in Narragansett on July 30.

There were a total of 32 violations discovered at Misquamicut; 25 at Scarborough; and 16 violations at Roger Wheeler.

All totaled, inspectors found 73 food code violations among the three concession stands, which ranged from a lack of thermometers in refrigeration units to staff not wearing hair restraints.