Consumers ordering veal dishes at some South Florida restaurants have been served an unsavory surprise: cheaper cuts of pork.
A Sun-Sentinel investigation of restaurants in Broward and Palm Beach counties found four of 10 restaurants tested were substituting pork in veal dishes.
The tests were conducted on samples purchased between June 18 and June 27 at five restaurants each in Palm Beach and Broward counties. The tests were performed at one of four private labs certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Experts say substituting pork for veal may be a widespread practice in South Florida and nationwide because pork is considerably cheaper and its taste is easily disguised. Wholesale veal can cost three times as much as pork.
Pork-for-veal substitution “has happened in the past. Every now and then you hear about it,” said Reimund Pitz, executive chef for Disney/MGM Studios in Orlando and the American Culinary Federation’s 1993 National Chef of the Year.
“The color of veal and pork is very much the same. Only an expert could tell the difference,” Pitz said.
“This practice violates and destroys the basic premise that what you order is what you are served,” said Robin Kline, director of consumer affairs for the National Pork Producers Council. “It is lying.”
The council is a Des Moines, Iowa-based group representing nearly 100,000 hog farmers.
The practice of substituting pork for veal also raises religion and health issues and calls into question the state’s ability to monitor and detect meat substitutions:
— Many Jews and Muslims choose not to eat pork because of their religious beliefs. “Some of the people (who ate at the places) will feel seriously damaged,” said Reform Rabbi Samuel M. Silver of Temple Sinai in Delray Beach.
— Pork substitutions could pose a health risk to those allergic to the meat, a doctor said. Reactions to pork allergies can range from hives to potentially fatal anaphylactic shock.
— The state’s restaurant monitoring system amounts to random quarterly visits, which may be inadequate for uncovering illegal meat substitutions.
According to tests performed at ELISA Technologies Inc.’s lab in Alachua, meat described as veal from four of the restaurants tested positive for pork: veal parmigiana at the Boca Diner in Boca Raton, Wiener schnitzel at Checkers/ Old Munchen Restaurant in Pompano Beach, Wiener schnitzel at the Courtyard Restaurant in Delray Beach and veal parmigiana at Pizza & Pasta at La Piazza in Delray Beach.
Follow-up tests for beef content in the four samples all proved negative. Veal is a beef product.
“They’re serving pork instead of beef. It’s very clear,” said Bruce Ritter, president of ELISA Technologies. “The combination (of pork and beef test results) pretty much closes the door on the question.”
Boca Diner owner Steve Pelekanos — who lists veal dishes regularly and pork cutlets on specials — denied the allegations and questioned the test results.
“We use veal for veal parmesan. If it happened, it is a mistake. They (the cutlets) are all in the same freezer. That is the only explanation I can give,” he said.
Checkers/Old Munchen owner Detlef Neumann openly discussed his use of pork in Wiener schnitzel, even though the German dish is defined as a “veal cutlet.”
“All our Wiener schnitzel is pork and we do not try to pass this off as veal. It is described on the menu as a breaded cutlet,” Neumann said. “Just look at the prices. Lunch is $5.45 and dinner is $6.95. It should be obvious it is pork.”
La Piazza owner Jerome Pile denied substituting pork for veal, saying the veal parmigiana the Sun-Sentinel purchased might have been accidentally mixed up at the restaurant with “parmigiana la piazza,” which Pile said contains pork.
“That is absolutely impossible,” Pile said. “There’s no way. We pay through the nose to get this (veal).”
Courtyard owner Marilyn Kaplan and manager Jeff Kaplan could not be reached for comment last week. A recording on the restaurant telephone said the establishment is closed until Sept. 28. Telephone calls and letters were not answered.
Veal at the six other restaurants tested negative for pork: Bagelicious in Boynton Beach, Bob’s Pizza/Amante Italian Cuisine in Deerfield Beach, Il Porcino in Coral Springs, Little Mermaid in Delray Beach, Sebastiano’s in Pembroke Pines and Zuckerello’s in Fort Lauderdale.
Meals purchased ranged in price from $3.95 to $24.95.
“Sure it’s easy to do, but I want to treat my customers honestly. I have even heard of people using turkey because it’s a white meat,” said Bobby Amante, owner of Bob’s Pizza/Amante Italian Cuisine. “I charge $14 for the veal and you get $14 worth of veal.”
A veal sample purchased at Publix also tested negative for pork content.
Veal industry insiders have heard rumors about substitutions for years, said Ken Cheatham, executive director of the American Veal Association in Naperville, Ill.
“If, in Fort Lauderdale, you’ve got 10 restaurants and four out of 10 (are substituting pork for veal), then I go to Orlando or Miami or Boston or New York and I’m thinking what does that extrapolate to?” Cheatham asked. “They’re running a scam on the consumer because of the price point.”
Wholesale veal leg costs roughly $3 to $3.25 a pound, compared to $1.05 to $1.20 a pound for a comparable cut of pork. High-quality veal cutlets can cost as much as $8 a pound.
Ron Koenig, vice president of sales for the New Jersey-based veal packer Berliner & Marx, a division of ConAgra Inc., said the blame should fall first on the restaurant owners, but consumers also share some responsibility.
“Shame on the consumers,” Koenig said. “They have to understand that if they see something in a store that costs six, seven, eight dollars per pound, they have to expect it will cost at least that much in a restaurant.”
Once pork is pounded, breaded and fried for Wiener schnitzel or sliced thin and drenched in marinara sauce, it is very difficult to tell it is not veal.
Jewish customers at the Courtyard Restaurant were unaware they were being served pork loin cutlets in Wiener schnitzel and veal francais dishes, said Robert Eschette, the former manager at the restaurant.
Eschette said he questioned the practice but was forced to go along with the switch. “I wanted to keep my job,” he said.
Eschette said he was laid off from his job in February.
Hebrew and Islamic scriptures warn Jews and Muslims that pork is unclean and cannot be eaten.
The ancient Hebrew dietary laws of kashrut explain that Jews may eat only kosher meat, and that meat is kosher only if it is slaughtered and prepared according to strict standards of tradition and cleanliness.
“There is no such thing as degrees of kosher,” said Rabbi Aron Lieberman, president of the Orthodox Rabbinical Board of Broward and Palm Beach counties.
The pork prohibition is so much a part of Jewish culture that many liberal or non-observant Jews do not knowingly eat pork.
Allergists say reactions to pork are rare. But for those who must avoid pork for medical reasons, substitution could prove fatal.
Dr. Howard D. Zipper, a Boca Raton allergist who has been practicing since 1969, recalled a patient, allergic to pork, who ordered an “all-beef” hot dog at a baseball game several years ago.
The hot dog contained pork, and the woman began going into anaphylactic shock, which closed her windpipe.
“She almost died,” Zipper said.
Other symptoms of an allergic reaction to pork include itching, hives, gastrointestinal reactions or a rare allergic arthritis.
Catching restaurateurs who substitute pork for veal can be just as difficult, experts say.
Federal agencies charged with enforcing food and trade laws, such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission, generally enter food substitution cases only when a national restaurant chain is involved.
There are only 29 state inspectors available to check 6,441 public food service establishments in Palm Beach and Broward counties.
State officials defend their system, but say they will be stepping up enforcement efforts.
“In any business, you are going to have individuals who will try and circumvent the law in order to make a profit,” said John McNeely, chief of the state’s Bureau of Hotel and Restaurant Inspections. “And when they do, they usually get caught or put out of business.”
—- Religion Writer Ken Swart contributed to this report.
TEST RESULTS
As part of an investigation into restaurants substituting pork for veal, the Sun-Sentinel sampled veal dishes at 10 restaurants in Broward and Palm Beach counties between June 18 and June 27. Samples at four of the restaurants tested positive for pork and negative for beef. They are:
Restaurant: Checkers/Old Munchen Restaurant, 2209 E. Atlantic Blvd., Pompano Beach.
— Owner: Detlef Neumann.
— Item ordered: Wiener schnitzel, $6.95.
Restaurant: Boca Diner, 2801 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton.
— Owner: Steve Pelekanos.
— Item ordered: Veal parmigiana with linguini (lunch), $5.25.
Restaurant: Pizza & Pasta at La Piazza, 660 Linton Blvd., Delray Beach.
— Owners: Jerome and Elaine Pile.
— Item ordered: Veal parmigiana, $8.95.
Restaurant: Courtyard Restaurant, 14400 S. Military Trail, Delray Beach.
— Owner: Delray Hospitality Association Inc./Marilyn Kaplan; Jeff Kaplan, manager.
— Item ordered: Wiener schnitzel, $5.95.
CALL US
If you suspect or have ever experienced food substitution at a restaurant or retail store, we’d like to hear about it.
Call our 24-hour hotline in Palm Beach County at 407-243-6555 or in Broward County at 305-356-4551 and tell us your story. Please leave your name and telephone number.
