College Cafeterias Held to Restaurants’ Sparkling Clean Standards
Emily Katz
May 2, 2011
The phone rang around nine in the morning on November 19th, 2010, as Wilfredo Granell and his colleagues who work at The New School’s Café 55 were serving breakfast. On the other end of the phone was his supervisor, calling to inform the staff that the inspectors were here—two female inspectors from the New York City Department of Health had arrived unexpectedly to give the facility a sanitation inspection grade.
The inspectors checked that thermometers were installed in all the devices and “took temperatures for everything,” including the oven, refrigerator, and the freezer. Wilfredo recounted that he wasn’t particularly nervous about the surprise inspection. He had received food safety training at orientation and has worked for Chartwells Higher Education Dining Services for three years.
“Rags cannot be on top of anything but the sanitizer bucket,” said Wilfredo, as he describes the many sanitary precautions he takes. He carries a deli meat thermometer in the pocket of his white chef shirt. The dining services staff go through lots of pairs of plastic gloves, because they have to wear a new pair every time they make a new sandwich or salad to avoid cross-contamination. As students work on their art projects in Café 55, the cleaning crew regularly stops by to sweep the floor and take out the trash.
As of July 2010, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has mandated sanitary inspection of restaurants for their letter grade results to be posted.
“College cafeterias are food service establishments as per the NYC Health Code and are permitted and regulated by the Department of Health and Metal Hygiene,” said John Santalesa, a spokesman from the Bureau of Food Safety and Community Sanitation, in an email correspondence. Therefore, college dining facilities are subject to the same inspection procedures and grade posting regulations as the restaurants of New York City.
The grading rubric is based on a points system for sanitary violations. Failing to store food at the right temperature is considered a “public health hazard” and will attribute at least 7 points, while the presence of rats or mice in the facility’s food or non-food areas, considered a “critical violation,” triggers at least 5 points. A “general violation,” such as handling food with bare hands, adds at least 2 points.
The lower the total score the better. An inspection score of 0-13 points merits an A grade, 14-27 points for a B, and 28 or more points for a score of C. The Letter Grade or Grade Pending card needs to be “conspicuously posted and visible to passerby.”
According to Mr. Santalesa, the inspection of The New School dining facilities located at 55 West 13th street resulted in 7 points of sanitary violations and the issuance of an A Grade card.
On a Friday afternoon, Jack Grinbilas, a freshman at Parsons studying Fashion, was enjoying a turkey sandwich with lettuce at Café 55. He eats there often because it is close to his 2D class.
“They run out of things quickly, like they had no croutons the other day,” he said, “this happens around once a week.” Nonetheless, he thinks that Café 55 deserves a grade A because it is “pretty clean” compared to the residence hall cafeteria that are “a little less sanitary.”
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Austin Delaney, a sophomore and Information Technology major at Pace University, and his friends were in for a shock when they arrived at the campus cafeteria, Café 101. On the door was a note stating that the establishment had been shut down by the New York City Department of Health. Among the students was the university President, who “turned red in the face” and stormed off to his office. As the President of the University got on the phone with Lackmann Culinary Serivces, Austin and his friends created the Facebook group “Boycott of Pace/Lackmann Food Services.”
Café 101 had received 79 points, far exceeding the 28 points that merits a C grade. According to the Department of Health, food establishments that receive a B or C grade have the option of posting a “Grade Pending” card and appeal to the Health Department’s Administrative Tribunal. However, the condition of Café 101 merited an immediate shut down.
With no cafeteria to eat at, the students could not use their meal plan money to purchase food; rather, they had to eat at local eateries and were then reimbursed by the university.
This was not the first time Pace University’s dining services have failed its customers. It had received 51 points a couple years ago, but the incident did not receive as much attention as this time because of the dining service and administration’s lack of transparency.
Student groups met with the university president. “We wanted accountability,” said Austin, “the dining services and administration were blaming each other.”
In period of time that the cafeteria was closed, Lackmann was fired and Chartwells, the same company that caters The New School, took over as the new campus dining service. According to Peter Taback, Senior Director of at the Office of Communications and External Affairs at The New School, the university has had a contract with Chartwells since 2002. Mr. Taback referred to Chartwells as a company of “experts who know how to serve, prepare and keep food sanitary.”
“There were hugely noticeable changes. The food looked much fresher, much more appealing,” said Austin.
College cafeterias and restaurants have their obvious differences, but they both serve large amounts of people throughout the day. Austin feels that college dining facilities should be held to the same standards as restaurants, for they both affect the “health and safety of those eating their food.”
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Nathan Wong, a freshman at New York University, eats at his college’s dining halls about twice a day. He feels that the dining services “gets the job done, are conveniently located, are well-stocked, and are efficient.” He read about the C grade that NYU’s Hayden Dining Hall in the New York Times and feels that the sanitation inspection grade is “unacceptable.”
Nathan has only eaten at Hayden Hall a couple of times but didn’t really notice anything suspicious. The cafeteria serves “just normal college stuff,” like pizza, chicken and noodles. “But there’s a lot that goes behind the scenes,” Nathan said.
“I won’t eat there until they have improved,” he said, “then again, the food wasn’t that great there to begin with.”
According to Owen Moore, the Director of Operations and Business Development for Campus Services at New York University, all dining locations on campus are inspected within the first 30 days they open. When asked if college cafeterias should be held to the same standards as restaurants, Mr. Moore said, “The Department of Health should inspect all locations in New York City that serves food, including trucks, carts, and kiosks.”
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The New School’s Library Café, which “proudly brews Starbucks coffee, was also inspected on November 19th and received an A grade. Dariana Cepeda, 22, was serving customers when the inspectors came. She trained to wear gloves at all times and to always sanitize. She has to change the coffee every two hours and check temperatures frequently. The milk has to be kept at 35 degrees Fahrenheit, and the measuring cups are labeled “nonfat,” “soy,” and “whole” to avoid cross-contamination. The inspectors tasted some of the “Outtakes” sandwiches and salads, which are made fresh daily in the kitchen on the second floor.
Dariana was very proud of the sanitation inspection grade her station received. “I was so excited! In the two years I’ve worked here, I’ve never seen roaches, no mice, no bugs,” she said, with a bright smile.
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