Princess Food, part two: Sanitary/health issue

Thought about posting this to the thread on fresh/frozen food on board but it didn't quite fit, so I decided to start a new thread.

Like many seasoned Princess cruisers,, I love the fresh food on board. The rolls are wonderful, as are many of the creative main and side dishes and, of course, desserts.

I am also generally impressed by the cleanliness and commitment to sanitary practices in food prep and service, with one major exception.

The grill on lido deck frequently uses one short order cook who uses gloved hands to place raw chicken and beef on the grill, then grabs buns with his gloved hands and places them on the grill to toast them.

Raw chicken in particular is known to potentially carry harmful bacteria. Handling both raw chicken and bread without a change of gloves or the use of tongs for the bread raises the risk of spreading disease.

I am surprised with all the other sanitary practices in place on Princess that such an obvious potential health problem has been overlooked.

Thought about posting this to the thread on fresh/frozen food on board but it didn't quite fit, so I decided to start a new thread.

 

Like many seasoned Princess cruisers,, I love the fresh food on board. The rolls are wonderful, as are many of the creative main and side dishes and, of course, desserts.

 

I am also generally impressed by the cleanliness and commitment to sanitary practices in food prep and service, with one major exception.

 

The grill on lido deck frequently uses one short order cook who uses gloved hands to place raw chicken and beef on the grill, then grabs buns with his gloved hands and places them on the grill to toast them.

 

Raw chicken in particular is known to potentially carry harmful bacteria. Handling both raw chicken and bread without a change of gloves or the use of tongs for the bread raises the risk of spreading disease.

 

I am surprised with all the other sanitary practices in place on Princess that such an obvious potential health problem has been overlooked.

We have recently returned from Emerald Princess and at the Lido Grill there were 2 staff working both wearing gloves one cooked the beefburgers, chicken etc and the other prepared the bread rolls on the plate with the salad and then put the fries on. At no time was there cross contamination and the rolls were never toasted.

We have recently returned from Emerald Princess and at the Lido Grill there were 2 staff working both wearing gloves one cooked the beefburgers, chicken etc and the other prepared the bread rolls on the plate with the salad and then put the fries on. At no time was there cross contamination and the rolls were never toasted.

Glad to hear this about the Emerald. I suspect cross contamination is only an issue when there is only one staff member assigned to the grill.

We just got off the Coral from a Panama Canal cruise where there was one person assigned to the grill. He did everything with the same gloved hands.

Glad to hear this about the Emerald. I suspect cross contamination is only an issue when there is only one staff member assigned to the grill.

 

We just got off the Coral from a Panama Canal cruise where there was one person assigned to the grill. He did everything with the same gloved hands.

Good catch on your part! I'll bet the cook was TRAINED for proper sanitation and just slipped/forgot/wasn't thinking.

Perhaps a simple: "Did you realize that you just handled those rolls after you were handling the raw chicken?" A conscientious cook would have apologized, thrown out the rolls, discarded the plates and changed gloves. Now had you been met with a lack of concern, then it's probably worth mentioning to an officer.

That simple question I propose would have taken less effort than waiting to post here... and probably would have been a great deal more effective.

Salmonella isn't fun.

Good catch on your part! I'll bet the cook was TRAINED for proper sanitation and just slipped/forgot/wasn't thinking.

 

Perhaps a simple: "Did you realize that you just handled those rolls after you were handling the raw chicken?" A conscientious cook would have apologized, thrown out the rolls, discarded the plates and changed gloves. Now had you been met with a lack of concern, then it's probably worth mentioning to an officer.

 

That simple question I propose would have taken less effort than waiting to post here... and probably would have been a great deal more effective.

 

Salmonella isn't fun.

Simple is better, but only when it works.

I raised the issue with the grill staff, then a supervisor and finally the Maitre d, who promised to alert the chef "right away." No changes took place over our 11 day cruise. And the practice continued regardless of who was at the grill, so it was not simply a matter of one grill chef forgetting what he had been taught.

When I have seen the cook staff grill chicken the chicken has already been pre cooked. They are just warming the chicken breast up and giving it a browned up surface. I have not seen raw chicken placed onto the grill, but that doesn't mean it never happens.

When I have seen the cook staff grill chicken the chicken has already been pre cooked. They are just warming the chicken breast up and giving it a browned up surface. I have not seen raw chicken placed onto the grill, but that doesn't mean it never happens.

At least on the Coral, the chicken was raw meat, not precooked.

As long as the bread hits a decent temperature, the risk is minimal but as noted there are better ways to do it. The actual issue here is the chicken being maintained at the right temp prior to cooking, as long as that is the case, there should be no or minimal bacteria to transfer. Also, quite honestly, bread is a lousy transmission medium for most foodborne illness.

BTW, glove removal or two people is the way to go. Tongs are actually a bad idea as if they get contaminated themselves they can spread to multiple servings.

What would be a serious issue is if the cook handled plates/cooked products with the same gloved hands...

As long as the bread hits a decent temperature, the risk is minimal but as noted there are better ways to do it. The actual issue here is the chicken being maintained at the right temp prior to cooking, as long as that is the case, there should be no or minimal bacteria to transfer. Also, quite honestly, bread is a lousy transmission medium for most foodborne illness.

 

BTW, glove removal or two people is the way to go. Tongs are actually a bad idea as if they get contaminated themselves they can spread to multiple servings.

What would be a serious issue is if the cook handled plates/cooked products with the same gloved hands...

Never thought of this issue and since only one person was on duty that person did, in fact, use gloved hands to do everything--handling meat, bread, plates, tomatoes/lettuce, and cooked french fries without even a thought of changing gloves.

Never thought of this issue and since only one person was on duty that person did, in fact, use gloved hands to do everything--handling meat, bread, plates, tomatoes/lettuce, and cooked french fries without even a thought of changing gloves.

This is rather troublesome. Wearing gloves in this scenario is just as bad as NOT wearing any gloves and NOT washing their hands between activities. A serious lack of training and knowledge of Food Safe practices.

Yeah, now that's bad. They would get seriously dinged on a CDC inspection for that. You are supposed to change gloves when handling raw food, money or packaging (like getting a box from the fridge)

Never thought of this issue and since only one person was on duty that person did, in fact, use gloved hands to do everything--handling meat, bread, plates, tomatoes/lettuce, and cooked french fries without even a thought of changing gloves.

We just got off the Coral from a Panama Canal cruise where there was one person assigned to the grill. He did everything with the same gloved hands.

REALLY sorry to hear this!

I'm boarding Coral in less than two weeks and am very particular about food and hygiene. When we go out to eat my family and friends know to seat me with my back to the kitchen.

REALLY sorry to hear this!

I'm boarding Coral in less than two weeks and am very particular about food and hygiene. When we go out to eat my family and friends know to seat me with my back to the kitchen.

This practice seemed to be the exception rather than the rule on the Coral. Cleanliness in food visible food prep areas in Horizon Court, the pizza location on the Lido deck and elsewhere was exemplary.

Just stay away from the burger/hot dog/chicken sandwich grill....On second thought, go by and check to see if food prep procedures have changed.

This is of great interest to me! We enjoy burgers, dogs, and fries from the grill frequently, and I will keep a close eye on this on the Regal in a couple of weeks.

And I will definitely speak up if I see anything unsanitary going on!

As the homeland security people say ... "if you see something, say something".

We never know what happens in the kitchens, we just have to assume that the crew is properly trained and following procedures. To be safe, always consume at least one dose of alcohol with each meal or snack onboard. It is always available in one form or another, close by .. especially by the pool !

Wash your hands often, and ENJOY THE CRUISE !!

...I am surprised with all the other sanitary practices in place on Princess that such an obvious potential health problem has been overlooked.

I have witnessed similar behavior everywhere from hospitals to fast-food places over the years. Often, it is been not changing gloves between handling cash and food. When I have mentioned it, it appeared the person simply wasn't clear on the concept of cross-contamination. Some seemed to think that just wearing gloves is enough to protect everyone from everything. I simply refuse whatever food they have prepared, and politely explain why.

I have witnessed similar behavior everywhere from hospitals to fast-food places over the years. Often, it is been not changing gloves between handling cash and food. When I have mentioned it, it appeared the person simply wasn't clear on the concept of cross-contamination. Some seemed to think that just wearing gloves is enough to protect everyone from everything. I simply refuse whatever food they have prepared, and politely explain why.

We found the most troubling aspect of this situation that no change was made after we made our concerns clear at several levels up and down the administrative chain of command.

We found the most troubling aspect of this situation that no change was made after we made our concerns clear at several levels up and down the administrative chain of command.

That is troubling. I witnessed a similar lack of concern on the Golden, and, although not a sanitation issue, someone with allergies might be affected. The coffee/hot water/iced tea combo beer-tap style dispensers were malfunctioning the entire cruise in the HC, switching randomly between one beverage and the other, regardless of what was selected.

I spoke to a waiter, who shrugged, then to a supervisor who also seemed unconcerned. I was, in fact, told "they always do that". No apologies, or even apparent concern.

Princess has many good qualities, but consistency is not one of them :(. I mentioned the above in my post-cruise comments, and got no response.

We found the most troubling aspect of this situation that no change was made after we made our concerns clear at several levels up and down the administrative chain of command.

Disgusting!

Did you send a letter to anyone at Princess after your cruise?

We never know what happens in the kitchens, we just have to assume that the crew is properly trained and following procedures.

On a recent Grand Princess galley tour, I noticed many security cameras (don't remember there being cameras on other ship galleys).

Asked one of the crew and was told "it's for ISO", which I assume was for ISO9001 Quality Management (a certified program for quality control).

So maybe any safe food issues are identified.

I have witnessed similar behavior everywhere from hospitals to fast-food places over the years. Often, it is been not changing gloves between handling cash and food. When I have mentioned it, it appeared the person simply wasn't clear on the concept of cross-contamination. Some seemed to think that just wearing gloves is enough to protect everyone from everything. I simply refuse whatever food they have prepared, and politely explain why.

You are right...folks seem to think gloves themselves protect...gloves can and do GET DIRTY! I don't care about clean bare hands....I'd rather they do that than handle everything with gloves and then touch my food!

Good thing we have pretty hardy immune systems...our last line of defense!

I have been on the Crown and Emerald in recent years and the chicken on the grill always looked pre cooked to me.

Disgusting!

Did you send a letter to anyone at Princess after your cruise?

Uh, not yet. Our cruise ended yesterday. Maybe after we have unpacked a letter will follow.

As the homeland security people say ... "if you see something, say something".

 

We never know what happens in the kitchens, we just have to assume that the crew is properly trained and following procedures. To be safe, always consume at least one dose of alcohol with each meal or snack onboard. It is always available in one form or another, close by .. especially by the pool !

Wash your hands often, and ENJOY THE CRUISE !!

This may not be a viable solution for Friends of Bill- those members of AA.

Agree about washing your hands though!

I have been on the Crown and EmeralAsd in recent years and the chicken on the grill always looked pre cooked to me.

You may well be correct that on some ships the chicken is precooked. And as others have noted, grills on some other Princess shops are staffed by two members of the crew. We have been on numerous other Princess ships, including the Coral for two previous voyages, and have not noticed a problem.

I can only speak for what I observed on the Coral on our most recent sailing--there was only one staff member on duty and the chicken was clearly not precooked and the person at the grill handled everything without a change in gloves.