Dean & Delucca Unsafe!

[kareng]

Dean and Deluca is a nice gourmet grocery store.  They also sell made to order salads and sandwiches.

 

I needed some fancy and expensive cheese for a party.  The wrapped cheese chunks should be safe.  Apparently not!  The guy behind the counter was cutting them with a knife he had used to make sandwiches!  I think they probably don't cut most of them that way, but if a customer wants a smaller piece, this is how he is doing it.  And then wrapping up the extra chunk for sale!  No warning of possible cc due to bad/dirty food prep practices.  I would think, even if gluten wasn't an issue, that getting a piece of cheese & unwrapping it to find crumbs, would be disgusting and worriesome.

[CK1901]

Ugh, that is all I have to say to that.

[kareng]

I called the store and talked to someone who claimed to be a manager.  I think he was just humoring me.  He said that was against policy.  But, big deal.  If no one is paying attention.

[squirmingitch]

Not to mention the other things that are contaminating the cheese such as mayo, onions and any other condiments. It's just BAD.

[LauraTX]

Perfect example of a careless employee that can screw things up, even at the best of places.  Glad you at least saw it before consuming!!

[kareng]

Not to mention the other things that are contaminating the cheese such as mayo, onions and any other condiments. It's just BAD.

I thought of that later. You can't use a knife that cut meat on cheese - health dept rule. I reported them to the state, too. Not sure if anything will happen there.

[BlessedMommy]

That sounds like it has potential for food borne illness! I'm glad that you reported them.

[kareng]

Got this response. Sounds like it was taken seriously - maybe not because of Celiac...... Maybe just because of meat cc. But that's a start.

" Thank you very much for your email yesterday. As the General Manager here at Dean & DeLuca, my staff and I take great pride in providing the highest quality products and service in order to exceed your expectations. When we fail to do this, we are greatly sorry for our shortcomings. After reading your email, I have to say that I am very disappointed with how my associate mishandled the cheese department. I have spoken with both the manager who handled your phone call and the employee who attempted to serve you. We currently have separate knives for both bread and cheese. Please be assured that this was a one time occurrence and if I can assist you with anything else moving forward, please call or email me directly.

Thank you again for your feedback and I hope that there is something I can do to make you reconsider Dean & DeLuca for your future needs.

Warm Regards,"

[squirmingitch]

It's certainly better than nothing and now that the Gen. Mgr. knows about it maybe he will keep a tighter eye on things in that department.