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Penn
State Housing and Food Services places special emphasis on safety
in food service operations.
To
ensure that standards are met in all aspects of the dining program,
ongoing inspections are conducted of the food, the equipment, and
the facility...and everything in between. Inspections include a
review of the physical facility, practices, food handling process,
food storage process, food preparation process, equipment, food
temperatures, and employee practices.
Food Service Sanitation Course
Food handlers, directors, and managers are required to pass a Food
Service Sanitation course sponsored by the National Restaurant Association.
This course stresses the importance of safe food storage, handling,
and preparation of food. Please review the answers to questions
4 and 5 below for more information.
Inspections
Food Service operations conduct monthly inspections and monitor
equipment and serving line food temperatures. You can rest assured
that everything is being done to ensure the safety of all food items.
Other organizations may also conduct impromptu inspections as well.
Please review the answer to question 5 below for
further details.
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| 1. |
“Where
do you obtain your meat products?”
“What grade do you use?”
“Are they USDA approved?” |
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Meat
products are purchased using specifications recommended
by the USDA Meat Buyers' Guide. All meats, including
boxed meats included, have specifications which must
be met by the vendor. Only USDA Choice items are purchased.
(This means that the USDA has graded this beef to meet
the "Choice" requirements.) The grading by
USDA is Prime, Choice, Select, and Cutter. (We purchase
beef graded higher than several national steak house
chains.)
Meat products are purchased from reliable local cutters
and ground beef products are from a nationally-known
meat processing company. In addition to the meat products,
poultry products are also from reliable and nationally-known
companies.
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| 2. |
“How
do you ensure the quality of your produce?” |
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Produce
is purchased using predetermined specifications. All
incoming produce orders are thoroughly inspected upon
delivery and staff ensure that the produce meets or
exceeds specifications.
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| 3. |
“Are
your meals prepared on campus?” |
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Yes,
all meals are prepared on campus in food service kitchens
and service areas, unless they are prepackaged items.
All breads, hamburger rolls, hot dog buns, etc., come
from a local bakery. Many dessert items, such as cookies,
cakes, pies, Jell-O, pudding, etc., are baked fresh
daily. Some dessert items from manufacturers are served
as well.
A computer program called FoodPro from Aurora Systems
has been used for over 14 years to provide standardized
recipes for our cooks to follow. The program also batches
these recipes to the proper amounts needed. This eliminates
any mathematical errors that might occur when resizing
recipes. This computer program also provides a nutritional
analysis of all food products and recipes served. Our
recipes are developed by our Executive Chef. Once they
are developed, we test them and hold samplings for our
staff and customers to determine if the recipe will
work. New products or different products are also added
to the menu on a continual basis, but only after a testing
and sampling have been completed. Please visit the Nutrition
section of this Web site for further details.
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| 4. |
“Who
does the cooking?”
“What qualifications does Penn State require
from their cooks?” |
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The
cooking staff is made up of full-time technical service
employees. The lead cooks are called "Food Preparer
A's", and assistant cooks are called "Food
Preparer B's". In order to be hired, cooks are
required to pass a culinary exam. Our cooks are also
required to take and pass the National Restaurant Associations'
Applied Foodservice Sanitation course. In addition,
all storeroom workers, food service workers, and management
staff are required to take this course.
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| 5. |
“Who supervises the level of quality of the
meals?”
“Do you have sanitation guidelines for your
facilities?”
“Are Penn State's facilities inspected regularly
and what are the results?” |
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A
professional management staff supervises each and every
meal. Over 90 percent of our management staff have degrees
in either food service management, restaurant and hotel
administration, nutrition, or business management. They
are required to take the Applied Foodservice Sanitation
program, as well as participate in all culinary
training programs. All food servers and preparers are
required to monitor cooking and holding temperatures
of all hot entrees and cold foods (i.e. salad bar and
deli bar) throughout the meal. These temperatures are
recorded on logs and kept for two years. Staff are expected
to handle food properly, including wearing plastic gloves
when handling food, and wearing proper hair restraints,
clean uniforms, and aprons.
When visitors from other universities or professional
associations visit Penn State, they always remark on
the high sanitation standards of our kitchens.
In addition to the monitoring of temperatures, monthly
sanitation inspections of each unit is required. A team
of staff, including the unit manager, performs these
inspections. Once a semester, the food service operation
and the central warehouse and Bakery at University Park
are also inspected (unannounced) by a professionally
trained HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points)
team. A complete HACCP inspection is preformed, which
require examination of food temperatures, storage and
handling, personal hygiene of food handlers, consistent
monitor of temperatures, etc.
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| 6. |
"What
is foodborne illness? What does Penn State do to
prevent foodborne illness? What should you do if
suspect you have foodborne illness?" |
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A
foodborne illness is a disease that is carried or
transmitted to people by food. This type of illness
is confirmed when laboratory analysis shows that a
specific food is the source of the illness. Although
any food can become contaminated, most foodborne illnesses
are transmitted through food in which microorganisms
are able to grow rapidly. Such foods are classified
as potentially hazardous foods. Examples of some potentially
hazardous foods are meat, milk, baked potatoes, tofu,
fish, and eggs.
Many different foodborne illnesses can result when
food is handled or stored improperly. Bacteria are
most often involved in a foodborne illness outbreak.
Although the symptoms of each food borne illness vary,
nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and fever are often present.
It usually takes several hours to several days before
most foodborne illness symptoms occur.
What
does Penn State do to prevent foodborne illness?
Training
Penn State Food Services requires every full-time food
service employee to be certified in ServSafe. This requires
taking an intense 2-½ day course developed by
the National Restaurant Association's Education Foundation.
Employees receive certification after passing the course
that is valid for five years.
Inspections
Every food service operation is inspected each semester
by a trained team of sanitation inspectors (unannounced
visits) and monthly by an in-house team of employees
and staff.
Temperatures
Additionally, an emphasis is placed on maintaining safe
cooking and holding temperatures of hot and cold food.
Throughout every meal period, food temperatures are
monitored and recorded in each operation. If temperatures
are not within acceptable ranges, the food is either
reheated to 165 degrees F° or discarded.
Reliable
Food Sources
The food purchased must meet certain specifications
set by our Purchasing Department before it is received
and accepted by the Housing and Food Services warehouse
and each unit. Once it is delivered to the individual
food service operation (i.e. dining commons or snack
bar), it is inspected again before being received.
What
should you do if you suspect you have a foodborne illness?
Food service
is our business, and we take it very seriously. If there
is a claim that a customer has gotten ill and suspects
a foodborne illness, we want to know about it and investigate
it immediately. If you are a Penn State student and
suspect foodborne illness, please contact or visit Housing
and Food Services and University Health Services immediately.
Procedures in place for such occurrences, and we work
in conjunction with the Penn State Environmental Health
and Safety Department to investigate these claims.
Your
safety is our # 1 concern!
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