PNC Park Recent Food Safety Violations: 44 Cited In SI.Com Report

PITTSBURGH, PA - Health inspectors found 44 food safety violations during a recent inspection of PNC Park eateries, with 21 of those violations deemed critical. That’s according to an analysis by SI.com, which reviewed public health records for 28 of the 30 Major League Baseball venues.

The website cautioned that fans shouldn’t be overly concerned about the presence of a safety violation and noted that safety standards can vary across the country. But SI.com thoroughly detailed the problems found at each ballpark.

Most of PNC Park’s critical violations concerned foods kept at unsafe temperatures. Federal regulations require cold food to be kept at a temperature no warmer than 40 degrees, but Allegheny County Health Department inspectors found temperatures inside some coolers at 50 degrees.

Food that wasn‘t sufficiently chilled included noodles, tomatoes and veggie burgers, each at 48 degrees; sliced cheese and guacamole at 47 degrees and hot dogs at 46 degrees.

Overall, SI.com ranked PNC Park 9 out of 28 for 2017 ballpark food safety. Cleveland’s Progressive Field and Detroit’s Comerica Park weren’t reviewed because food safety records requests for the two stadiums weren’t fulfilled.

If you’re queasy over the PNC Park violations, realize that things could be much worse. Health inspectors at Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays and the lowest-ranked stadium in the analysis, found more than a hundred critical violations. They included the presence of live insects and black mold being found in an ice bin.

Photo by Navin75 via Creative Commons.