Child is Severely Burned by Hot Coffee on Ferry Ride

Case Overview

This case involves a young child who was severely burned on a ferry ride when hot coffee spilled on her. The coffee was placed on a booth table in front of the child, and the coffee was served at a temperature of 190 degrees at the time of the accident. The ferry came upon a patch of choppy water, which caused the coffee to spill on the child, resulting in serious burns. The child required a number of skin grafts for treatment, and also suffers from permanent disfigurement.

Questions to the Restaurant expert and their responses

Please describe your expertise/experience in the service of hot beverages.

I am a coffee expert (i.e. brewing, holding, serving, consumer packaging, general consumer research regarding consumer needs and desires) particularly as it pertains to chain restaurants. I have worked for/managed three major coffee companies during my career. I have also been retained as an expert on many different hot coffee cases, as well as matters involving hot tea, hot cocoa, hot gravy and hot chili, many of those with children.

At what temperature should hot coffee be served?

In the chain restaurant industry, the standard for holding is 170-180 F for at least one major chain, and 180-190 F for many others. However, there is virtually always the caveat that if there is no coffee being held (i.e. the previous customer purchased the last few cups), the next cup served could have been brewed 5 seconds ago. Coffee should be brewed between 196 F and 205 degrees F to have an excellent cup of coffee.

About the expert

This highly qualified expert has over 25 years of experience in the food service industry, including chain restaurant franchises and quick service restaurants. She holds a B.A. in Chemistry from Eastern Nazarene College and a M.S. in Food Science from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She also performed post-graduate research in the Department of Food Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A member of the Institute of Food Technologists, she previously worked in different management positions at various foodservice companies including Dunkin' Donuts and Burger King. She currently works as President for a foodservice consulting firm.

E-008457

Specialties:

Restaurant