The Commons received an 80 on its health inspection last week, which came as a surprise because it has never scored below a 93. The staff was caught off guard when health inspectors came unexpectedly to assess their performance.
Some students were shocked at the Commons’ health rating while others say it was expected.
Freshman Anna Lee said she is neither surprised nor concerned with the Commons’ latest rating. “Sometimes the food would be a little undercooked,” Lee said. “I’ve eaten at places with lower ratings and nothing bad has happened to me. I’m not that concerned.”
Gary Coltek, director of Culinary and Hospitality Services, said that the health inspectors came at the wrong time. “They came in the middle of our biggest rush on a busy day,” Coltek said. “It wasn’t a fair representation of the way that Sodexo manages their health- related things at all.”
Coltek said that the valuable points lost in the Commons’ rating were due to small errors. “[In the Grind] We’re making coffee, [and] we’ll go through about a half- gallon of milk in 15-20 minutes,” he said. “You’re allowed to keep things out at a certain temperature” for a certain amount of time.
“It really depends on the time of day,” Coltek said “When you come in in the middle of the day and we’re feeding 5,000 people, that milk probably wasn’t gonna be out for another 10 minutes.”
Coltek said that health inspectors also take off points if a manager is not seen on the floor. “No manager, nine points off,” he said.
According to Freshman Daniel Holderfield, who works in a nursing home restaurant, health inspections are very strict. The restaurant Holderfield works at got a 96 on a health inspection after cleaning for 13 hours in preparation.
Coltek said restaurants could lose points for a number of reasons. If students are in line serving themselves and accidentally spill food on the counter that is not cleaned up, an inspector will deduct points, he said.
Coltek said he does not believe the rating will harm the reputation of The Commons. “We have nationally recognized program,” he said. “We’re not known for safety issues. I don’t think this will affect The Commons at all, and of course not affect our students.”
In hopes of fixing the problems pointed out during the inspection, The Commons hired an additional full-time safety supervisor. The other small problems were dealt with the day of the inspection, Coltek said.
The Commons has been scheduled for another inspection this week.
Coltek said he hopes The Commons will continue to grow and become an even better program. “As we grow incrementally with the new merger coming, we just bring on more staff,” he said. “ I’m not concerned about it ever happening again. It hasn’t happened in all of our inspections.”
I was a little disappointed in your front page headline article concerning the Commons and their health inspection score. Something that Kaitlyn Lewis left out was the actual report itself. Also, I have noticed that the health inspection score is not visible for all to see, did Kaitlyn inquire about this? If so where is it located in the commons, according to state law its to be visible for all to see. Oh I find Mr. Coltek’s comments to be a surprise, health inspectors routinely inspect when your least expecting it, that is why its called a “surprise inspection”. Of course they are going to come when you least expect it and when your the busiest so they can see for themselves if you are truly doing what your supposed to be doing and not just on the days the “health department” is paying a visit.
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