Brazil Hotels Hosting World Cup Teams Serve Expired Food
All eyes are on Brazil as we inch closer to the start of the 2014 Brazil FIFA World Cup, but is the country ready? From people protesting the country's exorbitant $14 billion budget to the scramble to build facilities in time, Brazil's preparedness is being seriously questioned. The latest gaff involves the Portobello Hotel and Royal Tulip Hotel, the two hotels that will supposedly be hosting the Italian and English national teams. The kitchens in both hotels were caught by food inspectors with over 100 pounds of expired food, most of which was found at the Portobello Hotel, including shellfish, cheese, steaks, pasta, and salmon. Inspectors called the food supply at both hotels, which are located in the suburbs right outside Rio de Janeiro, "unfit for consumption."
"It is unacceptable for a hotel like Portobello to store expired food," Fabio Domingos, head of Procon in Rio de Janeiro (a consumer rights government association), told CNN." It's one of the two largest hotels in Rio state that will be hosting international teams and it's storing expired shrimp, meat, and pasta. All of the expired food has been disposed of by our agents."
The Portobello Hotel has since contested that the food was one day past expiration, and that none of it was served to customers. Health inspectors, according to CNN, have been regularly finding violations at restaurants, hotels, and supermarkets in or around the city.
The World Cup will take place from June 12th-July 13th in several cities throughout Brazil.
Joanna Fantozzi is an Associate Editor with The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @JoannaFantozzi