Tristan Dixon, a freshman studying public policy, went to Everybody’s Kitchen dining hall for breakfast on a recent Wednesday morning. Ready to start another day of his first year in college, he picks up a plate, but it’s caked with yellow crust, likely the leftovers of the eggs another person ate hours earlier.
According to Dixon, this is a common occurrence.
“It’s so unfortunate, because a school that makes that much money, that raises tuition every single year, can’t afford to have better cleaning services for their dishes,” Dixon says. “It’s multiple plates. It’s not even like it’s one. It’s several. I have to go through four or five plates to find one that works for me.”
In December, Annenberg Media published an article highlighting various cases of USC students finding bugs, maggots and mold in the dining hall food.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health launched an investigation, and reports came in from the department that the cleanliness was satisfactory. Dirk De Jong, the assistant vice president of USC Hospitality, released a statement that DPH found grade “A” quality cleanliness in the kitchens investigated.
Now, three months later, multiple students at USC have sent photos to Annenberg Media of bugs in dining hall food, cake that looked moldy but which USC said was batter that “did not fully bake during production” and dirty dishes.
Dina Santa Cruz, a freshman majoring in human biology, has also experienced dirty dinnerware in the dining halls.
“There’s been at least two instances that I can currently remember where the plates they have for students to grab and go are dirty,” Santa Cruz said.
Santa Cruz said the lack of sanitization makes her hesitant to eat from the dining halls.
Freshman Vi Yoshida, studying fine arts, said the mandatory meal plan for freshmen is not cheap, and students paying that much to only get something not living up to sanitization standards “feels like the university is not doing its part to make sure students have a good experience here.”
Annenberg Media reached out to DPH and USC Hospitality regarding the reports students continue to make.
DPH responded with a statement, saying during its investigation, officials observed none of the issues laid out in the students’ reports. According to DPH, “All observed violations, which included improper storage of wiping cloths, a leaking plumbing line, and an employee drink near clean plates, were corrected before the inspector left the location.” When asked about the newly reported sanitation problems, De Jong gave the same statement that had been provided months prior to the L.A. Times.
“We have a strong record of safely delivering 30,000-40,000 meals per day on our campuses and continue to receive ‘A’ ratings from the Los Angeles County Department of Health,” De Jong wrote. “Since the end of fall quarter, we have implemented or enhanced a comprehensive set of enhanced food safety, quality assurance, and operational measures across all dining facilities.”
De Jong also wrote to Annenberg Media that these operational measures include independent inspections by USC Environmental Health and Safety food safety specialists on a regular basis, unannounced third-party audits with the Ecosure division of Ecolab, and increased frequency and scope of third-party Ecosure inspections.
De Jong wrote that USC Hospitality encourages students to report any concerns through the feedback forum on the USC Hospitality website and by speaking directly with staff in the dining halls.
Deona Willes, the executive director of USC Environmental Health and Safety, wrote that the agency’s monthly, unannounced food safety audits “follow the same inspection process, methods, and scoring as those used by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.” Willes said that since the end of fall semester, Environmental Health and Safety has increased its unannounced visits to the dining halls.
EcoSure responded to Annenberg Media saying that the organization provides USC with independent food safety audits and is “committed to advancing food safety and public health, and will continue to work with customers to help them maintain safe, clean and well-run dining environments.”
Students remain concerned about the cleanliness of the dining halls. Many students consistently wondered if the food they are eating is sanitary, with some avoiding certain foods in the dining halls altogether.
“I do try to stay away from eating food like bread, like their bagels, their toast,” Santa Cruz said. “Unfortunately, it does demotivate me to eat healthier choices like the fruits and vegetables that they have at the bar.”
Yashida says that the continued reports of the uncleanliness in the dining halls has caused her to lose faith in the university’s management.
“I definitely avoid the lettuce and the salad bar now because of the videos that came out about there being bugs in the food,” Yoshida said. “It made me aware that it’s a bigger risk than I previously considered.”