Food service earns high marks in inspection

Shippensburg University’s food service provided by Chartwells has received high marks during an independent quality assurance/sanitation inspection.

Steritech, the independent firm, recently conducted an un-announced two-day inspection of various aspects of food service, including cooler temperatures, salad bar temperatures, cleanliness of cooking equipment, management training programs, associate training programs, pest control, proper safe cooking, storing procedures, receiving procedures, product rotation, and inventory handling procedures.

The firm awarded the food service four perfect scores and a service-wide average of 98.7. Last year, the average was 93.5. The figures are also much higher than the scores of 72 or above that Steritech considers to be acceptable. Receiving 100 percent ratings were the Ceddia Union Building, convenience store, Starbucks and the Tuscarora Room (faculty/staff dining room).

“We are delighted by these scores because they underscore the high standards and outstanding commitment that Chartwells has demonstrated in providing high quality food service to our campus community,” according to Dr. Roger L. Serr, acting vice president for student affairs.

According to John Gaughan, director of operations for campus dining services, Steritech “comes in and tests for quality assurance. Since it’s a national company that tests all types of stores, processing plants, restaurants and schools it’s very detailed and the fact that we did so well on the scores says a lot. They are a benchmark of standards for the industry. Steritech showed us that we’re living up to their standards and expectations as well.

“We looked at our scores last year and even though we did great, we wanted to do better so we stepped up the training with the staff and went through a series of audits. The amount of work really paid off.”