Chartwells’ buried files
Understanding the unposted health grades for Quinnipiac’s dining services.
By Dorah Labatte and Ellis Einhorn
While 240 restaurants in Hamden and North Haven must display their health and safety grades — A, B or C — on their front doors, Quinnipiac’s dining service provider, Chartwells, is not required to.
An analysis of Quinnipiack Valley Health District (QVHD) records showed that if Chartwells did receive letter grades, it would currently have an “A” on all campuses. However, prior to 2016, Chartwells received numerical marks that would equate to a “C.”
QVHD staff inspects Chartwells’ cafeterias on Quinnipiac’s three campuses about every 90 days. The university’s cafeterias are thoroughly inspected because they are a class four dining service, which means they may prepare and hold food for up to four hours before it is consumed.
Since Chartwells is the only restaurant choice on campus, it is not required by law to display its inspection grade. Regulators say that while diners in Hamden, for example, might use a posted restaurant grade to make a choice, students have no other options. Instead, inspectors file reports and numerical grades for school cafeterias in the QVHD offices on 1151 Hartford Turnpike in North Haven.
Jade Thomas, a student at Quinnipiac University said she believed that if Chartwells displayed its grade letter in the cafeteria it would show students it can be trusted and it’s making efforts to maintain the state’s health standards. She added, “It’s definitely a good idea in my opinion, keeps them on their toes.”
But a Chartwells’ representative doesn’t think the grades are necessary.
“The only time anyone would notice is if it was less than an A. I guarantee if I put an A up there, not one person would say anything to me,”said Chuck Courture, the regional district manager at Chartwells.
Courture was hired in 2016 to improve Chartwells’ dining program at Quinnipiac. The program had a history of low ratings on QVHD’s health inspections. Dating back to September 18, 2008, Chartwells had multiple risk factor violations that would equate to a C rating. Risk- factor violations are two-point demerits that are issued when food is not kept at the proper temperature. Chartwells received a fluctuation of B and C ratings until 2014, when it received a grade equal to an A.
QVHD inspector, Ryan Currier, was adamant about the thorough rating process and just how complicated the system can be. “There’s demerit points from one through four. If you get a 4-point demerit, you automatically fail,” Currierd said. “Failure is based on the public health code language.” In other words, Chartwells could receive a 96 rating and still technically fail the inspection, which would be equivalent to a C grade.
Four-point demerits are based on temperature violations and employee sanitation practices. If anything does not meet the temperature standards, employees are not washing their hands, and/or the handwashing station is unsanitary, four points are deducted from the inspection rating.
Lynn Fox, Chief of Environmental Services at QVHD, noted that any rating anything below and 80 requires a re-inspection. Currier went on to clarify just how complicated the rating process can be.
“As far as the rating system, if you get a 4-point violation, you have automatically lost a letter grade. If you get two 4-point violations, you have automatically lost two letter grades,” Currier said. “Three point demerits mainly have to do with training and whether someone has been through food safety courses and whether that person is on site. It does no good if someone has taken the course but is nowhere to be found, which happens all the time. Most of the one and two point violations have to do with risk factors, such as bare hand contact and temperatures. If you get five or more risk factor violations, you also receive a C; essentially a fail.”
QVHD reviews revealed Chartwells dining services at Quinnipiac University Mount Carmel and York Hill campus has struggled with keeping foods at the required temperature, keeping foods properly covered, and providing a sanitary handwash station for employees.
Quinnipiac Junior, Dwayne Young, has been concerned about Chartwells’ sanitization at both the York Hill and main cafeterias.
“They don’t clean their knives properly between each meal or when they touch other students” Young said. “I know a Muslim student who can’t eat meat and she specifically asked a Chartwells worker to use a different knife, but for most people who wouldn’t ask of this, they’ll probably cut it with meat and cut her food with the meat residue on it.”
Courture says many of the demerits are a result of a busy flow of customers and a lack of attention to detail.
“People come through the salad bar and just wipe it out. If you come in at 12:20, 500 people come through and we’re all hands on deck and stocked when we’re busy,” said Courture.
Despite these challenges, the facilities have seen an overall boost in ratings from the QVHD.
And in the upcoming school year, students will have more dining options with a new Starbucks and a Revolution Noodle and Sushi Bar in the Carl Hansen Student Center, a Peet’s Café on the North Haven campus and Au Bon Pain Express in the Center for Communications and Engineering. All of the new facilities will be inspected by QVHD as well as Chartwells’ own internal EcoSure inspections.
