Mall Food Courts Are Crawling With Roaches

Compared to a greasy truck stop, the food court at the mall is four-star dining, but that isn't saying much. It turns out food courts are just as disgusting.

An MSNBC investigation revealed many food court hotspots are oozing with E. coli and littered with mouse poop.

Investigators visited malls in Boston, Minnesota, and New York City, and found all sorts of health code violations and unsafe practices.

Inspection reports show that since 2009 at Boston's Faneuil Hall, 43% of food vendors had critical violations, 68% at the Mall of America in Minnesota, and 84% at the Seaport Mall in New York.

Places like Megumi of Japan in Faneuil Hall were cited for mouse droppings in its storage area. So was the Charcoal Grill in the Seaport Mall. Megumi also had an unsightly roach problem.

Other violations included storing raw meat at improper temperatures, keeping cooked food too far from heat, or not keeping sliced fruit cold enough - both these infractions can cause E. coli bacteria to grow on food.

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Listen, you get what you pay for. Sorry, but they don't wedge Zagat rated restaurants in between Foot Locker and Build-A-Bear Workshop. It's crap food, put there to keep you going so you can buy more crap.

More restaurants should be like my uncles' pizzeria in New Jersey. Its clean, the food is fresh, and they always pass inspection. Then again, they own a judge.

Image credit: sickboyfilms

Food Weird fast food food safety 7 Comments O. on 30 Nov 2010

I'll say I am a little shocked as someone who worked at malls for 10 years.

Here in the Los Angeles area we do have the health inspection grades given to all restaurants, eateries, and places that sell food.

I've never been sick or seen anything disgusting.

I also heard that it is a good sign if the kitchen is visable to the customers and isn't closed off from public view, which is usually how food court stations work.

Reply O. on 30 Nov 2010

I will say that food courts are seductive.

My first job was just four doors down from the food court and my boss was a tyrant and a perfectionist.

So that's where my emotional eating started.

Reply Melanie Thomassian R.D. on 30 Nov 2010

Bring some nuts, fruit and a bottle of water... that should keep you going while you shop, so you don't have to be subjected to this.

Reply Spectra on 30 Nov 2010

I never eat at a mall food court. I'm never there long enough to need sustinence while I'm shopping. I'll sometimes bring an apple or something to nosh on, but I never eat at those fast food places. I guess I have a good reason not to eat there now.

Reply O. on 30 Nov 2010

I wouldn't call it crap food. It's quite competative. I actually want to be a Mrs. Field's franchisee.

There is a reason why free standing fast food restaurant chains for the most part aren't a fixture in malls.

Malls go easy on the leases for department stores because they are the "draw" that get people to the mall.

For instance how many mall stores, with the exception of department stores, do you see regularly advertise on tv? Victoria's Secret sometimes, Footlocker, but mostly they just feed of department store traffic.

The high leases are passed on to every other space for lease other than the department stores.

So McDonalds does real well in malls, and maybe a couple others chains, but Burger King closed most of it's mall locations and most other traditionally free standing fast food restaurants have limited mall exposure. Rent is too high, and they have to compete with food court exclusive brands.

Reply O. on 30 Nov 2010

ooops...

I meant to say that the mall rent is too high for a fast food company that does most of it's business with lower rent free standing or strip mall stores.

Reply Mazhar on 3 Dec 2010

thanks for post

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