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THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC Works has said that the thousands of sandwiches thrown out after the papal mass were offered to charities who said they were not in a position to accept them.
“They explained they were not in a position to accept sandwiches which were 36 and even 48 hours old, no matter how well they were stored in the meantime,” the OPW said in a statement.
It was responding to a caller on RTÉ’s Liveline who spotted catering staff throwing out unopened sandwiches after the World Meeting of Families closing mass in the Phoenix Park on Sunday.
“There was a skip, full of what looked like sandwiches so I kept an eye on it.
“Then I saw more staff coming out and throwing more sandwiches into the top of the skip, all brand new unopened sandwiches,” the man told Joe Duffy.
He said he was also in view of thousands of pilgrims leaving the main arena and presumed the sandwiches were being disposed of due to being unsold.
In response to the man’s query as to why the sandwiches were not donated to charity or given out to pilgrims, the OPW said that before the event and in anticipation of the risk of food waste it contacted a few charities.
"Many traders also attempted to have them distributed to charities but were unsuccessful for the same reasons. Many others just gave them away for free to members of the public as they left the site," the OPW said in a statement.
"The rest had to be dumped.
It is safe to say that the number of sandwiches dumped was proportional to the difference between expected attendance and actual attendance.
It is believed that in Knock, local nuns had leftover sandwiches taken away for distribution to charities.
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“Ah Joe, it was tettible Joe. The sambos Joe, just wasted”
And was it the high fiber brown bread too caller?
“It was Joe, and the expensive stuff too. Goodness of both Joe. Shockin so it was. Tettible altogether Joe.
@Tweed Cap: thanks for that pal best one I’ve read in weeks lol
@stephen lawless: What Stephen said!
@Tweed Cap: You’ve absolutely nailed it !
Red Top Radio Joe, the real people’s Pope !!
They should have asked the pope to convert it to wine before he left!
@Padraig Lehany: I say your on the brink of your own slot at the laughter lounge
@Padraig Lehany:
A transformation to Avocado Toast might have been a better bet for the times that are in it!
@Padraig Lehany: that might not have gone too well as bread turns into raw meat when the priest does his magic. H&S issues might arise.
@Patrick J. O’Rourke: the cannibals.
@Ohhh_reeally: no but you’re football team are
@Ohhh_reeally: No but your football team are!!
@Ohhh_reeally: no but your football team are!!!
This is typical of the charities, if sandwiches are good enough for joe public, they are good enough for the charities.
@scutterpumps: maybe the charities didn’t have the necessary storage space or distribution facilities at such short notice and the quality was nothing to do with it.
@scutterpumps: they’re old sandwiches (48 hours) and joe public didn’t want them when they were fresh.
@scutterpumps: no its a food safety issue. We run an event and we give away unopened packs of bread an cakes but we can’t give trays of sandwiches as you can’t prove how long they are made up
@scutterpumps: it’s because of HACCP regulations. That’s why charities seeking food drives always ask for non perishable foods like pulses, pastas and tinned foods. If you’re collecting perishable foods, they must be stored within guidelines of HACCP regulations and even these have a tight time period in which they can be accepted. I think they must be fresh fruit or veg or meat and be within their sell by date. Sandwiches have a shelf life but I can’t remember what it is. That’s why charities can’t accept them.
@scutterpumps: I’m sure the criminals both Religious and political dined well at the taxpayers expence. Yet you attack charities.
Sandwiches are the cause of most cases of food poisoning,they have a very short shelf life,its a pity they have to go to waste but health and safety first.
@Dave Walsh:
True.
I knew a Health Inspector who always referred to coleslaw as ‘Salmonella Slurry’!
This was explained already on liveline why repeat it.
@James O’Brien: Maybe because not everybody listens to Liveline?
@James O’Brien: I don’t listen to Liveline!
@Darren McCormack: you b don’t know what you are missing.omg
@James O’Brien: really slow news day today.
@James O’Brien: eh cos most people under 50 don’t listen to that whinging twonk Duffy?
@Nial D: Try most people under 60 don’t listen to that whinge bag.
@Darren McCormack: dont blame you!!!
@James O’Brien: because there is no other story available at the moment so that people can attack the church, down with that sort of thing, we must have one at least every 12 hours
@Darren McCormack: you should get out more then
@Nucky: That doesn’t make sense. Try again.
Yes we have a homeless crisis, I dont think we have starvation crisis. Charities run on a shoestring and still operate with high standards and many have existing supply chains in space. What were they to do, cancel all their existing stock and plans to take a van load of sambos that were probably going to go off in few days.
We will hear the same thing next week after electric picnic – why couldnt all those dirty soiled torn tents be donated to charity.
@Joe Clery:
And wellingtons
@Joe Clery:
And Wellington’s
@Aine O Connor: which is it?
Could the pope not done a reverse loaves and fishes.
@Paul Harvey: The loaves and fishes was a bit of a waste also.
Should have catered for the feeding of the 5000 rather than the 500000.
So charities wouldn’t take them because they were made two days before but it’s perfectly fine to sell the same sandiwches to the public? Selling them is ok but giving them away is not?
Why precisely was the OPW catering this event?
Wait till god hears about this
My son caught a lovely chicken and stuffing which a kind creature threw over the fence – scoffed on the bus home. Praise the Lord!!
Just a thought as I don’t know the ins and outs of farming, but could they not have been given to Farmers to feed the likes of their pigs or any other animal that can’t read nor care about a sell by date!?
@Julie-Ann Mc Guirk: I don’t think you should feed ham sandwiches to pigs. Feeding livestock with spoiled food just sounds like a good way to contaminate the food chain from the beginning.
@Julie-Ann Mc Guirk: and UK farmers fed processed beef to cows, resulting in BSE and destroying the UK cattle industry
@Vocal Outrage: Yep, it goes back to the roots of certain cultures and religions only eating meat that chews the cud. Pigs will eat anything including humans hence the paranoia was born and unleashed the religious interpretations. Grinding up animals and feeding them to the same animals was never going to end well.
Could’ve used them to build houses
And look at the muck they served the soldiers,the catering company or who ever made up these so called meals,should be sacked,just goes to show the respect this government has for our troops
Ome Christmas my Wife and I went to SVP to donate a large fresh sealed rolled ham. We were told that they could not possibly take such a product as they could not give such to a family. Makes you wonder if it is all just about the money that they want.
Could they not have put them in the brown bin?
All egg ?
Ireland is a rich country.
@Paddy Power: unfortunately people look for opportunities everywhere.
If one person receiving a dodgy sambo from a charity gets sick and ends up having e.g. a grave listeria or e.coli infection in this country, they are likely to sue the charity for huge damages attributed by the court.
We are indeed a rich country aren’t we?
There was far more waste at the papal visit than a few stale sandwiches thats for sure. Why would anyone expect anyone to eat sandwiches made god knows when and sitting around for days surely things arent that bad. Stale sandwiches would make good animal food chickens, pigs etc .. definately not fit for human consumption.
Beggars being choosers.
@@slemon: the charities weren’t begging, they were offered gone-off food and obvious reasons refused to take it.
@Karen Wellington: so the CEO of these charities who are on 6 figure salaries refused food, I’m sure the people they help on a day to day basis would not have turned down this food.
@scutterpumps: no one wants to eat rancid sandwiches, people wouldn’t even eat them fresh and mayonnaise doesn’t improve with age. They were essentially looking for someone else to take on and dispose of their waste and the charities in question weren’t stupid enough to agree to that.
@Karen Wellington: Did you read the stories. Its not that people “didn’t want them fresh”. Its that feck all people turned up and they’d make a lot more than they needed.
@Weldoninhio: so the leftover sandwiches were wanted? Supply was well above demand and the small number of people who showed up didn’t want to eat hundreds of sandwiches each, i.e. they didn’t want them.
Charities and the homeless aren’t sub-human, they don’t need to be grateful for the offer of a 2 day old egg-salad sandwich that will almost certainly make them sick.
I am sure the people who made the decision not to share the sandwiches with the charities never went hungry. Many people would have been grateful for a bite.
@James Gaughan: wow, that’s a first – doesn’t even read the full headline before posting.
@Matt Connolly: That’s not a first, sadly, let’s be honest.
It is poor ould Mrs Doyle that I feel for the most. The poor thing must have been heartbroken. She must have been up all night making those sandwiches only to see them being binned. “Ah, go on, go on, go on!”
Our daily bread is apparently only good to eat on the day.
A few loaves and fishes would have been plenty
I don’t know how it works now but 15/20 years ago any food (sealed sliced pans etc) would not be accepted from shops unless you could guarantee the same amount every night, it was not the food that was the problem but the supply
SHUD JUST GIVE AWAY !! NO COP ON
Now we know the real truth behind the loaves and the fishes.
Mrs Doyle will be raging
They were egg…
Good unopened sandwich throw waste bin & should give to homeless
They are not allowed by EU law, too take them on, that is why they refused them
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