The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Office of Public Health released its ratings of retail food establishments last week on its website. The list includes several on-campus locations including all Sodexho restaurants, which received a three-out-of-five pelicans rating overall, the St. Thomas Aquinas Center, which received a four-out-of-five pelicans rating, and the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute, which received a five-out-of-five pelicans rating.Sodexho locations inspected by the Office of Public Health on March 15 include Galliano Hall Cafeteria, the Student Union Food Court and Godfather’s pizza. Sodexho’s three-out-of-five pelicans rating is considered “good” by the Office of Public Health. The Quick Zone convenience store and sandwich shop, located in La Maison Du Bayou, is also operated by Sodexho, but was inspected separately on Dec. 16. Quick Zone received a five-out-of-five pelicans rating, which the Office of Public Health considers “superior.”

Some of Sodexho’s violations reported by the Office of Public Health include plumbing problems, misuse of outside dumpsters, chemicals stored above food and food not kept six inches above the floor. Other violations include dishwashers not working at proper temperature, improper utensil storage, state food safety certificates not posted and no paper towels or soap provided in lavatories.

Some violations considered “critical” by the Office of Public Health, such as raw food not separated from ready-to-eat food and chemicals stored above food and equipment, were corrected at the time of the inspection.

“Our challenge (during inspections) is that we do not own the facilities,” David Wait, Sodexho general manager, said. “If it is facility issues, we have to work with the University to get those corrected. If it is employee issues, we can work with that directly because they are Sodexho employees.”

Wait said Nicholls’ waste management company, Solid Waste Disposal Inc., improperly placing dumpsters caused violations concerning the misuse of dumpsters. SWDI could not be reached for comment at press time.

Wait also said dishwashers not working at temperature have been fixed since the inspection.

In response to state food safety certificates not being posted, Wait said all Sodexho’s facilities possess certificates, but display them in the Sodexho office in the Student Union for safety reasons.

“The standard does not specifically state that the license has to be displayed out in the dining room or kitchen,” Wait said. “It just has to be visible for anyone who wants to see it. It is in the office here, right when you walk in the door.”

Wait said his staff will be prepared for the required reinspection on May 16.

“As far as our training of employees, we have ongoing training programs and I feel that we are making a lot of headway,” Wait said. “I am sure that some of the mechanical problems will fix themselves. The school is dedicated and committed to making sure that the equipment and the physical being of the kitchen is at a high standard.”

The St. Thomas Aquinas Center serves food to active members daily and provides a free meal to all students and faculty every Tuesday during its “Not On Bread Alone” program.

Some of the violations committed by the St. Thomas Aquinas Center include the misuse of sinks and lack of hot water; walls and ceilings were reported to be in need of repair or cleaning. All “critical” violations were corrected during the inspection.

“We had problems with the drainage of our sink not being up to date,” the Rev. James Morrison, pastor of the St. Thomas Aquinas Center, said. “It backed up, basically. We had to correct that, which we did.”

Morrison said, thanks to a recently received grant, the entire kitchen at the St. Thomas Aquinas Center will be renovated. A larger water heater will be installed to meet the Office of Public Health regulations during the renovation.

William Thibodeaux, visiting lecturer for the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute, said he had not heard of the rating system, but was delighted at their five-out-of-five pelicans rating which is considered “superior.”

“We teach the students a lot about sanitation because it is important in the industry,” Thibodeaux said. “We are trying to develop good tendencies early.” Anyone wanting to learn more about the Office of Public Health’s rating system can access its website at www.oph.dhh.state.la.us.