Wicomico school cafeterias' health violations outnumber those at restaurants

Editor's note: Media outlets nationwide recognize the week of March 11-17 as Sunshine Week. Delmarva Now compiled the following report to highlight the importance of making and keeping government records open to the public.

Correction: This story was updated correct how often the state of Maryland requires health inspectors to visit school cafeterias. It is twice per school year.

Warm coleslaw. Tepid hamburgers. Dented cans of peaches. 

Many Wicomico County school cafeterias are struggling to provide a basic level of hygiene, putting thousands of students at risk of food-borne illness, according to a Delmarva Now analysis of health department records.

During the past two years, 92 percent of Wicomico school food facilities have received "critical" health violations at least once. Half, meanwhile, have gotten written up during at least three separate reviews.

What's striking about the analysis isn't that cafeterias are accruing critical violations. It's that they're doing so at a rate well above their peers in the county's private restaurant sector — on 57 percent of inspections compared with 50 percent.

The number of critical violations ranged from zero at Salisbury Middle and West Salisbury Elementary to seven at Fruitland Primary.

The supervisor of the Wicomico County Health Department's inspections branch said she was unaware of the disproportionately high rate of school violations until Delmarva Now raised them with her.

“I am a little surprised they’re that high," Diane Waller said. “I would love for the number to be much lower than that.” 

By and large, she said, school cafeteria managers "try to do a good job." Further, she is unaware of any reports, she said, of school-related food-borne illnesses happening in Wicomico.

The school system takes its health department reports seriously and works alongside the department to correct its violations in a timely manner, said Eric Goslee, food services supervisor for Wicomico County public schools.

“Any and all findings brought to our attention by the health department are analyzed immediately," he said in a statement in response to Delmarva Now's questions. "Our Food and Nutrition Services Team develop the appropriate course of action, and if necessary depending on the violation, collaborate with our Facilities Team to develop a response and action plan to address each violation.”

National problem

The number of food-borne illnesses in schools nationwide is fairly small, accounting for about 2 percent of all outbreaks in 2015, the most recent year for which Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics are available. 

But cases are on the rise. The average number of outbreaks increased from nine during 2010-2012 to 12 during 2013-2015, with the typical annual total of illnesses surging from 231 to 447 during those two spans.

The most common causes of school-related illnesses are salmonella and Norwalk-like viruses, according to a 2002 Government Accountability Office report. To combat the problem and other food-supply issues, the government watchdog called on Congress to create a single food-safety agency. It hasn't.

Most school food-borne illness cases are traced to poor food storage, how the food is handled and serving practices, the GAO said. 

Gaps in checks

Food-safety violations are worrisome in any setting but especially so in school cafeterias that serve young children, health officials say. The Wicomico County Health Department places schools as its highest priority for inspections, along with nursing homes.

"We try to get into the facilities we viewed as being the most at risk, with the population that’s most at risk," Waller said.

But that hasn't always happened, Waller admits. State health regulations call for school dining facilities to be inspected at least twice per school year. The rule can't be satisfied by inspecting on back-to-back days; reviews must be done once every four months.

During the 2016-17 school year, 21 out of 24 of the county's schools were inspected at least twice. Three facilities — Parkside High, Pittsville Elementary and Westside Primary — were visited just once.

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Waller says the infrequency came from high staff turnover. At times, her six-position department was down to as few as three employees, she said. Waller said she expects to be fully staffed again within about a month and a half.

Repeat violations

At Wicomico schools, the 57 percent violation rate remains out of proportion compared with its closest peers: other high-risk designated establishments. Among such places in the county's private sector, the failure rate stands at 51.6 percent.

Repeat violations are common in schools, particularly when they involve faulty appliances.

At Pinehurst Elementary, inspectors over two consecutive spring semesters asked school staff to replace a failing milk cooler, expecting the work to be done during the following summer. By fall 2017, there was still no new cooler, causing the school to be hit with a $100 reinspection fee.

"PLEASE provide a brand new milk cooler for this facility within 30 days," the health department's Regina Timmons implored in her report after her latest investigation.

At Glen Avenue Elementary, inspectors cited the cafeteria in March 2017 for not providing enough hand-washing facilities. An inspection the following September discovered the sink still had not been installed. As of the last inspection, on Feb. 26, It still had not been put in.

Wicomico Middle was also cited twice in the past year for not having enough sinks. As of a March 5 inspection, the health department was still waiting for its call to be heeded.

Goslee, the school food supervisor, said the school system recently put into place a new equipment replacement program. School officials took inventory of cafeteria equipment, assigning each a rating of good, fair or poor condition.

The equipment rated poor, he said, was either replaced this school year or will be replaced during the summer. Those that received a fair rating will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and will be recommended for replacement as funding becomes available, he said. 

Inspectors have also repeatedly pressed Glen Avenue's maintenance staff to get rid of stacks of used cardboard boxes in the kitchen area. The problem, school staff members tell inspectors, is that the recyclable materials are picked up once a month, but the lone bin fills up within two weeks.

"Please have recycle dumpsters emptied every two weeks, if not weekly," health inspector Shelby VanAuken wrote Feb. 26. 

Food faults

Health inspectors uncovered unsavory food inside county cafeterias.

In October 2017, an inspector forces cafeteria workers to toss out three pears that she said were "starting to break down" and had soft spots.

At Pittsville Elementary, cheesesteaks waiting to be slid onto trays were as much as 20 degrees below the specified safe temperature, resulting in a critical violation. Also, no one had documented when they had been set out, as required.

At Wicomico Middle, someone earlier this month left a cut tomato inside a room-temperature box containing other tomatoes despite codes specifying that sliced tomatoes be stored at 41 degrees or below. 

"Manager states someone possibly used (the tomato) as personal (food)," an inspector wrote.

At Parkside High, food handlers had difficulty keeping cold foods cold. From October 2016 to September 2017, inspectors cited the school three times during three separate visits.

Frustrated, the health department fined the school $200 fine on the last visit.

Fines are assessed only as a last resort, Waller said.

“We try to use it sparingly," she said. "We’d much rather spend that money fixing the corrections we’re asking for.” 

Parkside was cited during the same September 2017 inspection for failing to keep hot foods at the proper temperature. The kitchen manager told the inspector that the warmer had been turned down; the report does not state whether a reason was given.

Goslee said all food service employees must take state nationally recognized classes specifically on food safety, some of which require recertification every five years.

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In addition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires all school nutrition employees each year to take professional development training, which includes food-handling training, he said. Food service employees take six hours of training while food service managers take 12 hours.

The goal is "to serve our children the safest and most healthy foods possible,” Goslee said.

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MORE: Wicomico County Health Department food inspections database