Ice Cream Warning

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to have to report this, but the new Tuft's Convenience Store in Ball Square has been having very bad luck with their freezer system, and as I suspected I might, I got a pint of ice cream that had definitely been melted and refrozen. I didn't return it, just threw it out, because I felt bad for their woes and also didn't feel confident that I could clearly explain why refrozen ice cream isn't acceptable, but I really should try, I know. Some of the other frozen foods appeared to be frozen into squashy shapes, suggesting the same.

Everything on the regular shelves is fine, I'm sure, and they're working hard to do a good job. But you might want to avoid the ice cream until you see what looks like a new shipment in. That's what I'm going to do.

_{I wonder if they know that those glass tubes with the mini roses in them at the checkout counter are crack pipes. =0}

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_mattt/]

From someone who just suffered through seven and a half days of food poisoning, I strongly encourage you to approach them or the City Health Department.

Because the food has been refrozen, you have no way of knowing how long it was thawed for. It could have been minutes. It could have been days.

Not everyone reads LJ to heed the warning.

While the chances are remote, someone could get very sick and die. I was a healthy 35-year old adult, and I was devastated physically by food poisoning.

Sorry, Matt...

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

That sounds terrible... I agree, refrozen food can be dangerous for the reasons you mention.

Ditto

[sungold123.livejournal.com]

My boyfriend has gotten ice cream there (Ben & Jerry's) at least 2 times since they opened (once immediately after they opened and once in the past 2 weeks) and both times they were freezer burned like they'd been melted and refrozen.

Re: Ditto

[mcary219.livejournal.com]

how can you tell if its been melted and refrozen, what are the characteristics?

Re: Ditto

[belladonna.livejournal.com]

Lots of ice crystals, or sometimes it's sort of ... I guess gummy is the way to describe it.

Re: Ditto

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

That's exactly how I would describe it, gummy and crystalline. I poked a spoon into it but it didn't look like something I wanted to taste.

I also considered a frozen chicken pot pie for my lunch, but the box was squashy and I could feel through it that the crust was crushed in. That could only have happened if the pie had thawed.

Re: Ditto

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

Refrozen chicken pot pie sounds disgusting

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

Not exactly Davis Square, but the Reliable (Korean) Market in Union Square was also having a freezer problem. Some of them were closed off with tape, like they were trying to keep people from opening the door so they could keep the cold in, and there was dry ice in the refrigerated kimchi section.

So I'd also be leary of anything cold at the Reliable Market. Sad, because I'm sure the H-Mart is making a dent in their sales.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Yikes. I'm sure this hot weather is very hard on many establishments, but I've worked in restaurants, and if I recall correctly, you HAVE to throw out inventory if the refrigeration goes down long enough for the food temperature to rise even briefly. I know its hard for them to lose money, but it's better than getting sued for food poisoning.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

My husband is Korean, and he is very skeptical about them throwing out all the food. He is pretty sure they'll hang onto and try to sell whatever they possibly can to the point where he said we don't dare go back there for at least 6 months.

We've been shopping there for 10 years, but...I kind of see his point.

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

ugh. this reminds me of the first dorm i ever lived in, that we shared with 2 or 3 other schools. the cafeteria was three blocks away in the basement of one of the other dorm buildings. suffice it to say, it wasn't really a cafeteria at all. the only "refrigeration" they had was one coca-cola upright drink cooler thing like you'd see in a convenience store.

the only upside was if you didn't like what they were serving, they'd make you one of a few different things on the spot. for an entire year i ate nothing but dry cereal or tuna melts because i could see it was fresh and where it came from.

the woman that ran the place was constantly wringing her hands, knowing if the fda or whoever came in they'd be shut down in a second and she'd be out of a job. she did everything she could but they just didn't have the money. on top of a slew of other not up to code things, the school doesn't rent those buildings anymore, needless to say but ugh. not fond memories.

[ron_newman]

Even if you don't want your money back, you should still tell them what happened, as they may not know.

From an epidemiologist and microbiologist

[jenskot.livejournal.com]

I would let the owners know, and also the Health Department (concurrently, so that the owners have the chance to fix it, and so that the Board of Health can track potential subsequent illnesses). Thawed food might seem like an annoyance, but as Mattt attested, foodborne illness can also be devastating and sometimes fatal. I understand your reluctance to bother the owners, but this is a health matter and really should transcend "neighborliness".

[lac.livejournal.com]

I bought re-frozen ice cream there and won't get ice cream there again, at this point. I did mention it the last time i was in and they said they'd look into it, but you never know. So, please do mention it to them in the hopes they deal with that. I am a regular buyer of ice cream and I would like to be able to buy it there...I like supporting local stores like that.

Plus, they've been super nice when I've been in there so I'd like them to fix it and stick around.

[suzybuzz.livejournal.com]

when i went there the guy was really stressed and said that people were asking him for ice cream all day. he tried to tell me that the ice cream which had been moved to the one working freezer (by the front counter) would be acceptable if he took it from the bottom, but still it was super soft- so i didn't buy it. they know what's happening. they're just totally overwhelmed. and i think whoever is working there is afraid he'll get in trouble with his boss if he throws it away.

Knowing nothing about the restaurant business...

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

I have a question: Is there something like thawing insurance? I mean, if the freezer breaks etc, it would be a major loss.

Re: Knowing nothing about the restaurant business...

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

There is. (OMG my almost 10 years in property insurance is coming in handy!) As a part of one's property insurance, they can purchase, for an additional premium "spoilage coverage."

However, we cover a lot of restaurants and other food handling establishments, and we don't have a lot of them getting spoilage coverage.

Re: Knowing nothing about the restaurant business...

[soft-shoulder.livejournal.com]

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