Students weren’t the only ones receiving low grades two weeks ago.
On Friday, Sept. 15 the cafeteria at DeMattias Hall had its “A” rating temporarily stripped away by the Health Department of St. Louis.
The demotion coming after a surprise inspection left the cafeteria with a “B” rating for the weekend.
The inspection during lunch on Friday found that the ice that chilled the deli bar was not holding the meats at the proper temperature. In fact, the deli bar was too warm and did not comply with the requirements for the Health Department to hold an “A” rating.
Despite the warmer than normal temperature General Manager for Saint Louis University Dining Services, Bill McGeorge, assures students that the food was still safe.
“The food was not unsafe at that period because it had not been out long enough to be unsafe,” said McGeorge. “It was a fluke that day.”
The problem was blamed, in part, on outdated equipment. The containers that hold the meat are made of plastic and did not efficiently cool the food.
SLU Dining Services was required to fix the problem immediately after the inspection.
According to McGeorge, Dining Services had three options: fix the equipment; change the plastic pans that held the food to metal; or do away with the deli bar.
They opted to replace the plastic pans with metal, which would more efficiently cool the meats.
“It was a minor problem. We are working closely with the University to repair the equipment,” McGeorge said. “The University has done a great job to keep everything up to standards.”
The “A” rating was returned to the cafeteria Monday, Sept. 18, during lunch with a follow-up inspection by Health Department inspectors.
Few people even had the chance to eat in the B-rated cafeteria, since DeMattias does not serve food on the weekend.
Despite the rating, DeMattias still remains a popular cafeteria for students on the west end of campus. “I like the atmosphere,” said freshman Sonja Neumann. Most students were not aware of the downgrade and did not seem bothered by the problem.
There will be no follow-up inspection. The Health Department will return in approximately three months for their quarterly inspection.
There were no problems at any other cafeterias during this inspection.
