2008 Woodie Awards
Refectory re-inspection finds high score and changes
Neha Rayamajhi, Michelle Drake, and Victoria Burgos - COMM105
Issue date: 5/6/08 Section: News
A little more than a week after the Refectory received a sanitation score of 84, a re-inspection produced a new score of 95 - and praise from both the inspector and students.
Immediate responses to the initial score included school authorities emailing students to assure everyone that actions were being taken to end problems. Some students began eating off-campus and others began cooking their own meals and voicing concerns in other ways.
First-year Sara Kaminski started a Facebook group that gives advice for Salem students on what to cook and how to survive without eating what the site called "unhealthy" food from the college dining hall.
However, Eric Pearce, Refectory executive chef, said the Refectory staff has worked hard to improve conditions.
"We have … replaced old utensils and equipment and changed some systems...Now we check the food temperature every 15 minutes. This way we are not only serving the students fresh food, but also reducing the chances of overproducing food and just wasting it."
Continuous checking of food temperatures was good news for one Salem student who knows food service. Faye Brown, a junior communication major, said she took Culinary Arts and Hotel/Restaurant Services courses at Guilford Technical Community College.
Brown, who has worked as a chef at Ollie's Bakery near campus, said that when she read of the sanitation score and inspector's critique, "I was really upset."
She added, "The first thing that I thought about was 'servsafe.' 'Servsafe' is when you learn how to serve foods that are safe for human intake, cleanliness and sanitation."
She said procedure requires that "holding temperature must be high enough to keep bacteria off of the food."
But, as she read a Salemite story, she said, "The temperatures mentioned were very low. At the temperatures stated, bacteria could be found or could grow rapidly, if the temperature continued to decrease."
However, on April 16, soon after the health inspection that resulted in the score of 84, dining employees were seen repairing broken doorknobs and lights as well as painting areas of a hall. Some Salem students say they have noticed other changes.
Immediate responses to the initial score included school authorities emailing students to assure everyone that actions were being taken to end problems. Some students began eating off-campus and others began cooking their own meals and voicing concerns in other ways.
First-year Sara Kaminski started a Facebook group that gives advice for Salem students on what to cook and how to survive without eating what the site called "unhealthy" food from the college dining hall.
However, Eric Pearce, Refectory executive chef, said the Refectory staff has worked hard to improve conditions.
"We have … replaced old utensils and equipment and changed some systems...Now we check the food temperature every 15 minutes. This way we are not only serving the students fresh food, but also reducing the chances of overproducing food and just wasting it."
Continuous checking of food temperatures was good news for one Salem student who knows food service. Faye Brown, a junior communication major, said she took Culinary Arts and Hotel/Restaurant Services courses at Guilford Technical Community College.
Brown, who has worked as a chef at Ollie's Bakery near campus, said that when she read of the sanitation score and inspector's critique, "I was really upset."
She added, "The first thing that I thought about was 'servsafe.' 'Servsafe' is when you learn how to serve foods that are safe for human intake, cleanliness and sanitation."
She said procedure requires that "holding temperature must be high enough to keep bacteria off of the food."
But, as she read a Salemite story, she said, "The temperatures mentioned were very low. At the temperatures stated, bacteria could be found or could grow rapidly, if the temperature continued to decrease."
However, on April 16, soon after the health inspection that resulted in the score of 84, dining employees were seen repairing broken doorknobs and lights as well as painting areas of a hall. Some Salem students say they have noticed other changes.
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