Katy Agans
Contributing Writer
Dominican’s Dining Hall and Cyber Café earned good scores on their most recent public health inspections.
River Forest regularly inspects food services for maintenance, safety and sanitation, according to the Director of Operations for Dining Services, William Plamondon.
The 2021 inspection highlighted that Dominican’s kitchen appliances are well-maintained and up to date and food is being stored at proper holding temperatures. Nutrition lecturer Alyson West examined the report and determined that Dominican was doing a good job.
“I would be satisfied with the most recent health inspection. These results indicate that DU Dining takes food safety seriously and has good policies and procedures in place.”
Because of COVID-19 the village did not inspect Dominican in 2020. The 2019 inspection also was good, West said.
“My first impressions of the 2019 health inspection records for Cyber Café and the Dining Hall is that they are OK,” she said. “The holding temperatures were proper, which is important for food safety, and there were no violations for food handling, preparation, etc. The reported violations related to equipment and cleaning, which can be addressed with maintenance and a more frequent cleaning schedule.”
During the COVID-related shutdown, Dominican took time to repair and replace kitchen equipment in order to make sure that everything was up to standard when the university reopened, according to Plamondon.
Proper equipment is very important, West said.
“The nutrition and dietetics profession places great emphasis on the essential role of good food safety practices in foodservice operations and our broader food system,” she said. “Food may be made unsafe via contamination, improper holding temperature, etc., from equipment that is not well maintained, thus I would say it is very important to keep equipment up to date and safe.”
Dominican’s health inspections haven’t always been good. In 2018, inspectors found the facilities in disrepair and food stored at improper temperatures, among other things. https://dominicanstar.com/du-dining-services-required-amends/ These issues were corrected in a follow-up inspection.
Students were reassured by the latest report. Anna Meyer, a sophomore, has always had good experiences with eating in the Dining Hall.
“It’s been fine. I don’t like that the plates aren’t always dry, it leaves some stains,” she said. “But the food is always well-cooked, and the staff is nice.”
Junior Carlie Merola has never had any issues when eating at the Dining Hall.
“The quality of the food is always prepared well, and I trust it,” she said. “They (the staff) always wear gloves. I’m a germ freak and I don’t get freaked out by the dining hall.”
The next inspection will likely be in the fall of 2022.