Study Finds Serious Violations in NY Stadium Food

It's enough to turn your stomach.

A new study of health violations at the nation's 107 sports venues find some gross oversights, and New York establishments are among the worst offenders.

Nearly one-third of all stadiums and arenas have been cited for at least one "major" health violation, the ESPN study found.

ESPN tallied up each arena's percentages of "critical violations," or cases in which vendors sold food that "might pose a serious risk for foodborne illnesses."

Offenses in New York range from food not kept a the proper temperature --like warm chicken -- to "mouse excreta" and dead fruit flies.

Madison Square Garden ranked the worst, where 61 percent of MSG vendors were cited this year for unsanitary conditions. Inspectors also observed large amounts of mouse droppings throughout establishments, the study found.

Yankee Stadium and Citi Field rated only slightly better, with 48 percent of vendors cited in The Bronx and 45 in Flushing Meadows.

Nassau Coliseum was the only New York-area establishment that didn't have any violations, according to the survey.

MSG and Yankee officials alike said the violations were remedied immediately following the inspections.

The Verizon Center in Washington, DC, was rated the worst venue in the nation with 100 percent -- yes, all -- of its vendors getting cited.

Wrigley Field, on the other hand, has a perfect record. But analysts note this could be because Chicago conducts its investigations on nongame days, when no food is being prepared.

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