Aramark, the provider for all food service facilities on campus, has already improved its regional health department score following three critical violations and a near-failing grade for the Main Meal.
The violations have been corrected and the score was elevated to 86 out of 100 from the recent 72 out of 100 during a recent follow-up inspection on April 18.
Three violations were to blame for the poor score. The first violation was for green bean juice found in the bottom of a hand-washing sink.
The second was a dented can of sweet potatoes found mistakenly placed among good, undented cans, instead of on a returns shelf.
The third and most crucial infraction involved the temperature of hamburgers and hotdogs that were not hot enough.
With an electric grill down in the kitchen, we had to make changes, said Warner, assistant vice president for the Culp University Center and campus ID services. He also serves as a liaison between the university and Aramark Services.
“To enable us to still serve the students, we were cooking outside on a gas grill on the patio,” Warner said. “That Wednesday was the first of those really cold days, too, when flowers were freezing.”
By the time Aramark employees were able to get the hamburgers inside to the serving line, their temperature had dropped to 113 degrees from the 140 degrees or higher mandated by the state.
In Aramark’s defense, when you are dealing with a facility of that size and a building of that age, there will undoubtedly be more opportunities for health code violations, said Tony Goins, environmental health specialist for the Northeast Tennessee Regional Health Department.
Some view this as a wake-up call for Main Meal. “We’ve never had a score below 70, so if it’s not the lowest, it’s close to the lowest score we’ve ever gotten,” Warner said.
Dr. Steven Bader, senior associate vice president for student affairs, said, “Well I think obviously that report got the university administration’s attention. There was a meeting with officials from Aramark, as well as some high-level university administrators, including myself. We got a commitment from Aramark to change some fundamental ways that they were conducting the operation, so we’re looking forward to better results in the future from the inspector.”
ETSU has made a firm commitment to look even more closely now at inspection results, Bader said.
This occurrence does not signal a need for any drastic changes yet. “We continue to have a good deal of confidence in Aramark Food Services and they’ve convinced us that they know exactly what the problems are,” Bader said. “These problems will be addressed in a timely manner. “
Aramark has hired an outside agency specifically to help them monitor themselves. “We proactively arranged for an additional inspection process, called Ecosure, that is independent from the health department inspections,” said Karen Cutler, director of communications for Aramark. “This process will provide another level of quality control.”
While Aramark provides all food service facilities on campus, ETSU is ultimately responsible for the upkeep of the equipment and the facilities themselves. “We should have had a grill that worked, and we didn’t,” Warner said.
Students’ responses mirror those of many school officials.
“Yes, that score does [deter me], if the way they are cooking isn’t hygienic, then I feel as though the food they’re giving me is not going to be hygienic either,” said Philippa Lahai-Swaray, a junior.
Even though some had not heard of the score, they still expressed concern. “Well, it’s a bit eye-opening I suppose, it makes me a bit more thoughtful about it,” said broadcasting major Kevin Hughes, 19. “That score’s cutting it a bit close I’d say.”
Still others did not seem too fazed by the score. “I would still eat here,” said senior Trevon Boyd, a criminal justice major. “They keep it clean, so it’s not like going in and eating in a dirty restaurant. I mean, if it wasn’t clean, we wouldn’t be in here.”
After looking over a copy of the infractions on the health inspection, senior Amy Purkey said, “I wouldn’t have an issue with most of these [violations],” she said. “It’s not going to make me not want to come back again. It’s not enough to worry about.”
One poor health inspection score does not take away from the fact that ETSU regularly scores well on inspections, Warner said.
“Yeah, I’m disappointed that it happened, but I know that we have a good food service,” he said. “I know that our quality is good.
“I’m sorry that a series of stupid mistakes, and that’s what they were,” Warner said. “I just don’t feel like that score is really, representative of the overall quality of our operation.

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