Summertime and the Ripoff is Easy - The 99 Ice Cream Ripoff.....

budfox

Lots of stuff on in Dublin this weekend which was great...headed to the Dun Laoghaire in the morning, the French foodie thing on at the quays in the afternoon, the zoo this morning followed by St Anne's Park this afternoon (great event, well done Dublin City Council). (all you need to do is remove all those organic famers selling stuff from all over EU...when we're on the door step of the countries largest market gardening region in Rush/Lusk/Skerries..come on..give it up..)

Ice cream vans all over the place this weekend and with an attendant 2 year old who loves them, so for the first time you just happen to notice the prices - two adults, one toddler, up to a tenner! - the variance bowled me over!

99 in Phoenix Park this morning (beside the zoo): €3.50
99 in St Annes this afternoon: €2.50, one van and €3.00 the other (and right scabby ones too btw)
99 in Teddy's, Dun Laoghaire: €2.00 (massive cone - enough for two!)
Lynch's chipper, Clontarf Road: €2.00 (the same)

The guy in the park completely changes his prices...(and no, I don't buy any free market economy BS either!!)...his board is a wipeclean where the prices are..he doesn't even hide it!

Do the math...What a complete rip-off. And there's no taking into accound the size of cone either btw...saw some of them coming through the various hatches as I was passing and they were the pits...(the OH thought it was hilarious, me ranting on about it...but seeing young couples with kids being hounded for cones and then being fleeced just got my goat...)

And the trick is, they take the money, then pull the cone...so you're stuffed if you think it's too small..and hardly any even bother to put the napkin around it either so you've their dirty paws on it to boot...

Captive audience, hot day and young kids and it's rip-off city/hay day for the mobile salmonella machines....wonder does the FSAI check them out?

What's a fair price for a decent size 99?

How about a name and shame?

Lando Griffin

99 CENT

the groutch

I'd never pay more than €2

Amalgam

budfox wrote: »

99 in Teddy's, Dun Laoghaire last weekend: €2.00 (massive cone - enough for two!)

Captive audience, hot day and young kids and it's rip-off city/hay day for the mobile samonella machines....

What's a fair price?

Teddy's are famous for them. €2.00 is acceptable to me.

I don't think Samonella is the main risk, one of the papers (Irish Times), found that close to 80% of the soft ice cream machines in central Dublin had bacteria normally associated with faeces.

I can't think of the name of the bacteria.

budfox

Amalgam wrote: »

Teddy's are famous for them. €2.00 is acceptable to me.

I don't think Samonella is the main risk, one of the papers (Irish Times), found that close to 80% of the soft ice cream machines in central Dublin had bacteria normally associated with faeces.

I can't think of the name of the bacteria.

I think Listeria is a big risk but if the vendor doesn't wash his hands or cover the cone with a serviette then, well the world is your disease!!

Warning over ice-cream food-poisoning threat

Posted on May 25, 2006 by Food Poisoning Lawyer

Ice-cream sellers could give their customers food poisoning unless they improve their food safety practises, it was claimed today. The long-awaited arrival of summer weather is expected to drive up the sales of ice cream, and the risk to consumers.


The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said that while it had few concerns about pre-packaged ice-cream products, it was worried about the safety of soft and whipped ice-cream being sold from stalls, shop counters and vans.


Chief food science specialist Dr Wayne Anderson warned that ice-cream sellers with poor hygiene and handling practices could spread bacteria and put their customers at risk of food poisoning.


"It is therefore vital that we advise food handlers and food business owners and managers nationwide to ensure that the necessary food-hygiene practices are in place when serving soft-serve ice-cream, in order to protect consumer health," he said.


Ice-cream vendors can spread bacteria through inadequate hand washing, using dirty machines and equipment, using utensils that have not been cleaned properly before use and using unclean dish cloths or serving cloths.


The FSAI is calling on ice-cream vendors to take a number of personal precautions including wearing clean protective clothing, keeping all cuts and grazes covered and trying not to cough or sneeze around ice cream. It also wants them to stop serving ice cream if they are ill.

Ricardo G

Ice cream machines are required to have a visible cleaning schedule sheet/form displayed on the front or side of it so its visible to customers. Yet it makes you wonder if they are ever actaully cleaned !! and what are they cleaning them with?

As for rip off, 2 euro seems reasonable i certainly would not pay any more than that

Guy:Incognito

budfox wrote: »

(and no, I don't buy any free market economy BS either!!)

What do you not buy? Economics? Maybe you should inform the world of this discovery.

budfox wrote: »

(..his Captive audience, hot day and young kids and it's rip-off city/hay day for the mobile salmonella machines....wonder does the FSAI check them out?

Not much use tacking on a little bit about potential disease after you've given it to your child.

rubberdiddies

€2 is more than enough to pay. If I saw €3.50 I'd laugh at anyone paying that. It's not really a rip off when you choose to pay it.

91011

€2 for teddys ice cream is excellent - they are considered to be the best. (they still have queues at 10pm on a summer evening)

Anything over this would be considered expensive.

€1.50 - €1.80 seems to be the norm outside Dublin.

Tazz T

It's actually cheaper inside Dublin zoo. €1.90 for a kidsone. I believe it was €2.30 for an adult.

Isn't it 70c at Ikea.

budfox

actually, the Ikea ice cream isn't bad at all...

I wouldn't pay 3.50 for a cone but astounded by the prices out there...

budfox

Stekelly wrote: »

What do you not buy? Economics? Maybe you should inform the world of this discovery.



Not much use tacking on a little bit about potential disease after you've given it to your child.

Useful post, thanks.

Run_to_da_hills

Amalgam wrote: »

Teddy's are famous for them. €2.00 is acceptable to me.

I don't think Samonella is the main risk, one of the papers (Irish Times), found that close to 80% of the soft ice cream machines in central Dublin had bacteria normally associated with faeces.

I can't think of the name of the bacteria.

This is because a lot of mobile vendors pi**ss into bottles when they need to go to the toilet when they on the road.

Some don't wash their hands afterthemselves or wear gloves when serving ice cream or handling cash.

I would never buy from an ice cream van.

ejmaztec

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

This is because a lot of mobile vendors pi**ss into bottles when they need to go to the toilet when they on the road.

Some don't wash their hands afterthemselves or wear gloves when serving ice cream or handling cash.

I would never buy from an ice cream van.

Especially,funny looking Fanta in odd bottles.:eek:

bcirl03

Our local Ice Cream van sells the cones for 99c a pop. Looks clean but one can never tell.

Would never pay more than €2 for one.

Owen

Also bear in mind most Supermarket machines are never cleaned out. The amount of staff I've spoken to who've refilled machines after the long winter of no sales only to be met by slime and gunge inside the machine is crazy. And they just load the new mix in on top of that stuff!

T-Square

99 pence was the going rate 10 years ago.
With the change to euro at 1.3 or so,
and ten years of inflation at 5% of so,
it seems very reasonable to charge
2 euro these days.

We got somelovely 99s up in Skerries for 99cents,
couldn't believe it, and they wer lovely, no runs either

budfox

Stekelly wrote: »

Not much use tacking on a little bit about potential disease after you've given it to your child.

I wasn't tacking on about giving it to my child...I wouldn't give my child a cone from a mobile van cos most of them are mingers, they spend a day handling money and most dont even bother to put a napkin around the cone so god knows what gank they have on their hands and now I read the obvious question about where do they relieve themselves if they're stuck in a van all day? That aside, I didnt say I my OP that I give my kid IC...just to be clear...so troll away...but if you've anything to contribute to the story of the ice cream "Rip Off" itself, I'm sure we'd all love to hear it...I think that's the point of this thread, right?

budfox

Amalgam wrote: »

Teddy's are famous for them. €2.00 is acceptable to me.

I don't think Samonella is the main risk, one of the papers (Irish Times), found that close to 80% of the soft ice cream machines in central Dublin had bacteria normally associated with faeces.

I can't think of the name of the bacteria.

If you're bothered then read the attached survey!!http://www.fsai.ie/uploadedFiles/Monitoring_and_Enforcement/Monitoring/Surveillance/ice_cream_whipped_scoop.pdf

rubadub

Sundaes are €1 in mcdonalds, just icecream in a pot with cream, and less fear of kids dropping the damn things. McDonalds were doing icecream cones last year for €1 and they were ridiculously big, cones were very nice too, not the bog standard askey cones you get. I imagine mcdonalds still do icecreams but for more than €1 now, no way they are €3 though. I would trust mcd's hygiene more than those vans.

sceptre

T-Square wrote: »

99 pence was the going rate 10 years ago.

Places actually sold them at 99 pence? That must have been damned inconvenient for change, despite the convenient marketing window due to inflation (they were rather less than that when I was small).

buckshotbrolan

This has made me laugh. It's called a 99 because that is the price! When I head to the uk it still costs 99 pence, and that is with a flake on it. Simple if it costs more ask why or tell them no thanks!

paddydriver

Always look for their (up to date) HSE hygiene cert in the window and if he looks to take your money with the same hand he pulled the ice cream with (common) then walk away.

91011

buckshotbrolan wrote: »

This has made me laugh. It's called a 99 because that is the price! When I head to the uk it still costs 99 pence, and that is with a flake on it. Simple if it costs more ask why or tell them no thanks!

99 Flakes were introduced by Cadbury's back in the 1930's. Its the flake that is called "99" as there are 99 of them in the box.

buckshotbrolan

91011 wrote: »

99 Flakes were introduced by Cadbury's back in the 1930's. Its the flake that is called "99" as there are 99 of them in the box.

Ah your showing your age now! Thanks i didin't know that.

mossy2

I got 2 large 99's in the Centra in Dundrum (Co Tipp) this afternoon for €1.80 each I think it was. Served to my kids with a smile by a very pleasant young lad. The kids got chocolate and rasberry sauce on the 99's also at no extra.

Run_to_da_hills

mossy2 wrote: »

I got 2 large 99's in the Centra in Dundrum (Co Tipp) this afternoon for €1.80 each I think it was. Served to my kids with a smile by a very pleasant young lad. The kids got chocolate and rasberry sauce on the 99's also at no extra.

You wouldn't get them for that price in Dundrum Co Dublin.

Nonoperational

I've eaten many many 99s and never got sick from them!

Shelflife

PaintDoctor wrote: »

Also bear in mind most Supermarket machines are never cleaned out. The amount of staff I've spoken to who've refilled machines after the long winter of no sales only to be met by slime and gunge inside the machine is crazy. And they just load the new mix in on top of that stuff!

I find that hard to believe,

please dont tar us all with the one brush, we have a set claening schedule and the machine is a self pasturising one. we are also audited by the local hse who take samples for testing on a regular basis.

we charge €1.70 for a 99, made with quality mix and quality cones.


btw they are called 99 because they were the 99th product made by cadburys.

91011

Shelflife wrote: »

btw they are called 99 because they were the 99th product made by cadburys.

That was one answer given a few years back, but as the flake itself was started in 1920 and the mini flake used in cones came in 1930 and at that time Cadbury also had bassets and many otehr brands, its an unlikely answer,

BTW - all flakes including those in UK, Europe & middle east for are made in coolock as its the only cadbury plant with a machine that can do it.