SILVERSEA VESSEL GETS FAILING GRADE

The US Centers for Disease Control has given a failing grade to Silverseas Cruises’ Silver Shadow for food safety. The CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program reports the luxury vessel was cited for an “organized effort” to remove trolleys of food from the vessel’s galley as way to “avoid inspection.”A sudden inspection of the ship on June 17 in Skagway, Alaska, was held after a member of the ship’s crew sent pictures to the CDC of meat and other food products said to be improperly stored. That led to a failing grade of 82 for the Silver Shadow. A grade below 84 is considered “less than satisfactory,” the VSP says. A crew member who sailed on the Silver Shadow said his superiors told him and others to sleep with food in their cabins and food was hidden repeatedly to avoid health inspections. A spokeswoman for Silversea says it was “deeply disappointed” in the outcome of the inspection, adding it has always scored in the highest range of grades in the past.