Wallingford Receives Lab Results on Worm Found in Fruit Cup at Sheehan

Wallingford Superintendent of Schools Dr. Salvatore Menzo notified parents in a letter Tuesday that the lab results on the worm found in a fruit cup served at lunch at Sheehan High School confirmed that the larva showed “morphology” consistent with having been cooked.

The state Agricultural Experiment Station conducted the test and Menzo wrote that the finding was consistent with the conclusion that was reached after discussing the matter with the distributor of the fruit.

The distributor, Northeast Marketing Co., wrote the following statement to school officials:

“Organic matter of this type can appear from time to time in the processing of fresh fruit into canned fruit. It is nearly impossible to be 100 percent free of such defects because of the limited pesticides that are now used in the orchards and because of the high volume of fruit that goes through the high speed processing lines. We can assure you that because of the high heat used in the canned cooking process, there is no danger of any foreign organic material surviving.”

Menzo wrote that it’s the first time in 22 years that such an incident has occurred in the district.

“Food safety and sanitation is a high priority with the staff,” Menzo wrote. “Our staff takes extra care to check and inspect the food they prepare and serve. Employees working in the cafeterias are sanitation certified prior to hiring. As a result, they have taken a 10-hour course and passed a national sanitation examination. They are required to receive yearly refresher training.

“This was a very unfortunate isolated circumstance.”

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