USJ Dining Hall Had Rodent Feces/Flies, Chef Fired/Situation Corrected

WEST HARTFORD, CT — The company operating the University of St. Joseph's cafeteria operations confirmed Friday it has fired the executive chef after the school's dining hall failed a health inspection earlier this fall.

The inspection happened Sept. 30 and the regular check-up revealed mouse feces, flies and dirty equipment in the dining facility, which is part of the university's 1678 Asylum Ave. campus.

According to the inspection report, obtained Friday by Patch via a Freedom of Information request to the West Hartford Bloomfield Health District, the flies were at the ice cream station and the mouse feces was in a dry storage area.

As a result of that and several other negative marks on the site, the Sept. 30 inspection failed to pass muster, according to the report.

As a result, a follow up inspection was required Oct. 14.

According to St. Joseph, McGovern Dining Commons opened in January 2020 and serves as the school's lone dining hall for students living on campus.

In addition to on-campus students, McGovern also serves commuters, faculty and staff, according to the university.

The company hired by St. Joseph to run its dining operations is Sodexo, an Issy-les-Moulineaux, France-based international food services management company with clients worldwide.

It's American base of operations is Gaithersburg, Md.

In a statement emailed to Patch Friday morning, Sodexo said inspectors with the West Hartford-Bloomfield Health District regularly visit USJ dining facilities every semester, unannounced.

"We welcome them to observe our facilities and operations and provide feedback on areas where we can improve," wrote Sodexo.

"It is not uncommon for their initial observations to identify areas of improvement, that may be below our high standards, and, invariably, when they return for reinspection, these points for improvement have been implemented through enhanced training and refinement of procedures and processes. "

What happened after the September inspection, however, was deemed serious enough for Sodexo to take action, according to the company.

“After the first inspection, our executive chef was dismissed from his position, and I as general manager assumed the role interim. Immediate and ongoing training was taken to ensure all employees have full knowledge of HACCP procedures and moving forward, we have leveraged additional resources from Sodexo to ensure compliance with safety and sanitation leading to a fully complementary score," wrote David Hebert, Sodexo's general manager of dining services at USJ.

HACCP is a food industry acronym that stands for "hazard analysis and critical control points" and is a key component of food operations.

Hebert said the facility was inspected again in October and "immediate improvement" was seen.

The West Hartford-Bloomfield Health Department's Oct. 14 inspection report confirms the status of the cafeteria currently.

"Good improvement since last inspection," reads a summary from the report. "All other items from last inspection have been corrected."

Officials with the University of St. Joseph could not be reached for comment Friday morning.

For more information on Sodexo, click on this link.

For more information on the University of St. Joseph's dining services, click on this link.