Despite health code violations at many Boston University dining halls in the past year, including six critical risk factors since Oct. 17, Dining Services and City of Boston officials said the cases are minor and have been cleared.
The “Mayor’s Food Court,” an online restaurant search engine accessible through the City of Boston Inspectional Services Department website, lists 10 on-campus locations with regular inspections, including dining halls at the the Florence ‘ Chafetz Hillel House, Myles Standish Hall, Shelton Hall, The Towers, Warren Towers and West Campus.
The locations have had a combined 13 “risk factor critical item” code violations in the past year, including six in the past month and a half, according to the website.
Dining Services Marketing Director Michelle Vitagliano said her department is aware of the past violations listed on the site, adding that BU works with ISD to maintain a “close working relationship.”
“Whenever possible, we take immediate action to clear any food violations,” she said in an email. “However, there are things like equipment failure that require a bit more time to correct, as we have to rely on service technicians for repairs.”
“Fresh Food Company,” located in West Campus, received 10 violations in the past year – the most violations on campus, with five listed under “risk factor critical item.” The violations, discovered during a Jan. 30 inspection, ranged from a toilet and hand-washing facilities violation to a lack of proper food protection management violation.
The Mayor’s Food Court lists two on-campus dining locations – a basement café and a conference center – as having open food code violations. Vitagliano said although the locations’ online information has not been updated, both violations have been corrected.
Science Fare café, located in the BU Science Complex basement, received a physical facilities violation Nov. 14. The BU Executive Leadership Center, located on the School of Management’s fourth floor, received an adequate lighting violation Nov. 16.
Vitagliano said it is important for students to understand that every aspect of dining services is scrutinized.
“[Students] should also note that there are several types of violations,” she said. “For example, equipment failure, paint peeling, temperatures being off by even 1 percent . . . these are all considered violations, even though they are non-critical.
“As a result of this,” she continued, “it is important that students understand the nature of the violations rather than just looking at the numbers.”
ISD Assistant Commissioner Tom Coffill said the university’s dining services has a satisfactory status when compared to other highly populated food establishments.
“BU, on the long run, has a pretty good record,” he said.
Coffill said there are three levels — high, medium and low — that determine how often a health inspector visits a Boston location. Because BU is listed under the “medium” restaurant business category, a health inspector visits the campus twice a year.
Hillel House, Myles and Towers received “risk factor critical item” violations – for food protection, time and temperature control – Oct. 19, Oct. 27 and Oct. 17, respectively. According to the website, the code violation concerned proper food storage temperatures.
Vitagliano said students should feel comfortable with how dining services takes corrective action “to remedy all previous food violations” and “ensure that we don’t have repeat violations.”
SMG Executive Leadership Center events manager Mary Sforza said although she was initially shocked by the number of violations dining services had recently acquired, she thought they were rare incidents.
“They’ve always been on top of everything,” she said. “It’s food preparation . . . everything has to be on code.”
Each location found on the Mayor’s Food Court includes a link to the dining halls’ past health food violations, dating back to 2001.
The BU Pub and Shelton both had equipment and utensils violations Oct. 19 and Oct. 17, respectively. According to the website, the violation concerned the sanitation and cleanliness of food contact surfaces.
The Mayor’s Food Court allows visitors to search the name of a food establishment within the city, helping consumers “make informed decisions about where they will eat,” the website states.
Vitagliano said Dining Services has taken several measures to prevent future food violations, including offering employees two food handler trainings per month and having a Safety and Sanitation director conduct daily dining locations inspections.
“We have installed touch-free paper towel and soap dispensers in all dining rooms,” she said, “and we now offer less self-service options and more cook-to-order options.”
Sforza said whether or not the violations were isolated incidents, there are “just too many” Dining Services managers who supervise food services to ensure they run effectively.
“[Dining Services’] criteria are very, very serious,” she said, “and if [ISD] thought [our violations were] a hazard, they would close us now.”