Clean Bill Of Health: Angel Stadium Rectifies Rodent Problem

Inspections Of Angel Stadium Reveal Only Minor Food-Safety Violations This Year

Health inspectors have "found no evidence this year of the widespread rodent infestation that once plagued Angel Stadium," according to Doug Irving of the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER. Dozens of inspections at stadium kitchens and food stands "turned up only a handful of dead cockroaches, some fruit flies and a single dead mouse," and most were "deemed minor food-safety violations, nothing that would pose an immediate health threat" to fans. That is a "big change from just two years ago," when an Orange County Register investigation found "scores of food-safety violations," including nearly 120 vermin violations at the stadium. Inspection reports indicated that the stadium had only "nine vermin-related violations this year," down from 12 in '08, and "only one of those violations this year was considered major." Irving notes cleanup crews "now stay late after night games to clean up the tons of sticky trash that fans leave before it can attract hungry rodents," and Aramark, the stadium's concessionaire, "requires its managers to do a nightly cleaning inspection before they leave." The Angels also have a "cat on the prowl in the corridors beneath the stands." Angel Stadium is owned by the City of Anaheim, but the Angels "manage the day-to-day operations" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 10/9).