KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After Kansas City Royals fans shared photos of what appears to be moldy buns and overcooked hotdogs served at Friday's Buck Night at Kauffman Stadium, Aramark opted to give a tour of their facilities and explain how they make their ballpark food.
On Tuesday the food company for Kauffman since 2007 offered up a media tour of the kitchen and concessions as food workers prepped to serve thousands of fans coming to see the Royals take on the Twins.
As KCTV5 toured, the president of sport and entertainment for Aramark offered up an explanation for the six fans he said got the discolored dogs.
"When the hotdogs are produced, they are held in what we call a heated box, the box has a heating implement in the bottom of it," Aramark President of Sports and Entertainment Carl Mittleman said. "Unfortunately what we think happened is that some dogs got too close to the heating element. In other words they were too hot and the foil residue interacted with the bun. We think that's what caused the charred look on the bun and the dogs having the look of being overcooked."
But he insists that there was no safety concern for fans.
"Let me be clear that the food here at Kauffman Stadium is safe to eat," Mittleman said.
Aramark said what some fans took pictures of on their buns is not mold. Kansas State University and University of Missouri consumer food safety expert Londa Nwadike was also shown the photos and offered her opinions.
"My concern is when there's a food quality issue, it might be a good indicator there's a food safety issue as well," she said.