Various pictures posted on social media platforms have surfaced in the past months, portraying items including various insects, allegedly found in food from Wilfrid Laurier University’s Fresh Food Co. Dining Hall. Specifically, numerous pictures were anonymously posted on Spotted at Laurier’s Twitter account. The posts portrayed bugs that were supposedly found by students in food bought at the Dining Hall.
According to the Region of Waterloo website, a health inspection took place at Laurier’s Fresh Food Co. Dining Hall this past March 17. As per the inspection, the dining hall was found satisfactory. The online inspection detailed one critical infraction and two non-critical infractions. The critical infraction was found under “food protected from potential contamination and adulteration.” The infraction stated that “displayed food must be enclosed in a manner to prevent contamination.” The critical infraction was reported to have been corrected during the inspection.
Non-critical infractions included ensuring that “all surfaces are clean and maintained in good repair” and ensuring that “food contact surfaces are washed/rinsed/sanitized after each use and following any operations when contamination may have occurred.” Both non-critical infractions were also stated to have been corrected during inspection.
Laurier Food Service released the following statement to The Cord in regards to the numerous student complaints on social media:
“Serving safe, nutritious and quality food is our top priority as we work to deliver great experiences for our customers. If our guests have an experience that does not meet their expectations, we encourage them to speak immediately to our management team to address their concerns. While feedback may be received from anonymous sources, we encourage customers to contact us directly so we can quickly address concerns and provide a resolution. If we do not hear directly from the customer, we are unable to adequately validate or address the feedback,” it read.
“Please note that internal investigations are completed to review and assess our current operations to ensure a safe and satisfying dining experience. Our investigations begin with the immediate inspection of our products and processes with immediate corrective action taken if necessary. Our next step is to reach out to the Region of Waterloo Public Health to conduct an external investigation to ensure transparency. The Region of Waterloo Public Health was on campus on March 17 and the food safety inspection was satisfactory.”
“We also notify our food suppliers of any concerns to ensure the safety and quality of our products. We value our customers’ feedback and utilize customer comments and suggestions to further enhance our services on campus. In addition to speaking to our team, guests can also provide feedback by visiting yourdiningvoice.com.”
