Maintaining Sanitary Facilities

Annual Inspections: Dining Services works very closely with the local Health Department in creating sanitary facilities. Also, in the fall of 2011, Dining Services contracted with an independent company to inspect our facilities semiannually for sanitation. These unannounced inspections are in addition to the Health Department inspections. They have the sole purpose of ensuring that we are maintaining our facilities in a sanitary manner at all times. While it is unrealistic to expect any operation to have no violations during an inspection, we pride ourselves in keeping these violations to a minimum. Violations can be deemed either critical or non-critical and while the term "critical violation" sounds severe, it is possible for an operation to have a critical violation while still maintaining an overall rating close to 100 percent, which is still a grade of A+.

 

Action Plans: As part of our commitment to food safety, action plans are created after every annual Health Department inspection. These plans detail what steps will be taken to resolve any situations identified during the Health Department Inspection. In addition, any training needs are identified and personnel are designated to oversee all corrective actions. These plans are written within 24 hours of the inspection and are then sent to the Health Department for review and approval. Current actions plans are listed with the food safety inspections scores.

This commitment to food safety and sanitation is found in everything we do in Dining Services. It is important to us that students, parents, and administrators understand the extent of our commitment and feel secure in their dining experiences on campus.

 

Our Commitment to our Customers

Food safety is our paramount guiding principle: Dining Services believes a customer's well-being comes first and has established food safety as its paramount guiding principle. A comprehensive food safety plan has been developed and is in place to help prevent food borne illnesses.

HACCP program: In 2011, Dining Services developed and implemented an extensive Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) program. HACCP is a program that analyzes all aspects of the production of food and sets up safeguards to ensure that food is safe. A HACCP program is considered the best way the industry has of ensuring that the food production process is the safest it can be. In designing this program, Dining Services worked extensively with the Shelby County Health Department. In addition to assistance in designing the program, Extension also provided HACCP training for all management staff in Dining Services. Completion of these classes gives participants a joint certification from the Shelby County. Dining Services was the first department in the area to have employees receive such certification.

Training: As part of our commitment to food safety, we have also created an in-house training program, Serving Safe Food, which new dining employees must complete as part of their orientation. Also, all management and supervisory staff must complete and pass the National Restaurant Association ServSafe® Food Protection Manager Certification Program. Currently, we have 14 employees certified in this program.