According to the health department, in one case, an individual contacted the city’s 311 Action Center impersonating an Aramark food service employee to report supposed safety issues.
The department uncovered the false claim when following-up with the employee; in this case it was discovered that the person’s identity was deliberately misrepresented.
“Kansas City’s Health Department performs thousands of inspections each year, and each complaint is taken seriously,” said Naser Jouhari, environmental health services division manager. “The reporting of deliberately false claims does a disservice to our entire community and wastes taxpayer dollars.”
In another case, an individual sent a tweet to the health department’s Twitter account and posted a photo of unsafe food allegedly served at Kauffman Stadium. Further investigation determined the photo was lifted from an unrelated Florida news story and falsely represented as food served at Kauffman Stadium.
“Food safety is our highest priority and the Kansas City Health Department continues to be supportive of our safety program and practices,” said Carl Mittleman, President of Aramark’s sports and entertainment division. “We respect the health department’s obligation to follow up on complaints; however, we find the nature and timing of multiple attempts to undermine our efforts to be very troubling.”
The health department continues to make regular inspections at food handling facilities within Kauffman Stadium, officals said.
This year, the department has made 10 visits and conducted 147 inspections; the most recent inspection at Kauffman Stadium occurred June 19, as a follow-up to a complaint.