Sodexo at Fordham University Expands Food Protection Training; Ensures Sanitary Excellence, Food Allergy Accommodations

NEW YORK, New York – Maintaining a proactive stance on food safety, sanitation standards, and food allergy awareness, Sodexo at Fordham University is training all associates on critical protocols. 

Christine Testa REHS/RS, a Registered Sanitarian and former NYC Health Department Supervisor, serves as Sodexo’s Regional Health and Safety Coordinator. In addition to her many responsibilities in this role, she leads staff education on meeting and exceeding sanitary excellence.

For the hearing impaired associates who work side by side with Sodexo Executive Chef Michael DeMartino, Testa expands training options by utilizing the NYC Food Protection online course, a white board, and lectures translated into Sign Language by on-site job coaches.

“With the completion of this invaluable food protection training, opportunities for career advancement will certainly follow,” said Brian Poteat, Sodexo General Manager at Fordham University.

In addition to training the hearing impaired, Testa provides on-going 30-minute mini food safety classes for students from the Vocational Education Services for Individuals with Disabilities (NY State Department of Education) and the Nassau Placement Network. The class covers five risk factors of food borne illness classified by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) along with Sodexo food safety standards.

“I am so pleased to be part of the Fordham University community and to share my passion for public health and safety,” said Testa. “Moreover, I am proud to support Sodexo’s commitment to education and career advancement for all food service associates.”

Sodexo at Fordham University mandates that key employees and managers are ServSafe and NYC certified. Although the ServSafe certificate is valid for five years, Sodexo insists on training every three years to maximize educational benefits.

Through Sodexo training initiatives, including both hands-on and classroom instruction, employees gain comprehensive understanding about the importance of food safety; good personal hygiene; time and temperature control; preventing cross-contamination; cleaning and sanitizing; safe food preparation; receiving and storing food; methods of thawing, cooking, cooling and reheating food; HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) and food safety regulations.

Twenty-nine Sodexo employees and ten managers are Food Protection Certified as required by New York City Department of Health for all supervisors of food service establishments. Sodexo at Fordham takes this requirement further by offering the course to all interested employees.

A major initiative in food safety for Sodexo at Fordham University is properly accommodating student food allergies. The program is led by Sodexo Registered Dietitian Jeanne Molloy, a New York State native who came to Fordham from The College of New Jersey and Drexel University having previously been in Sodexo's Healthcare division. As part of the Sodexo campus services team she works with students to meet their nutritional needs for weight loss, weight gain, sports nutrition and food allergies or intolerances.

Malloy has trained forty-five employees to date as the vegan station transitions to include gluten-free options. She reviews what gluten is, what symptoms an allergy/intolerance includes, what foods are naturally gluten-free and how to prevent cross-contamination.

About Sodexo at Fordham University

Sodexo at Fordham University provides a full spectrum of Hospitality Services on campus and beyond, including involvement in the “Feeding Our Future” program providing over 13,000 free lunches for school-aged children in New York City each summer.  In keeping with the University’s commitment to “going green,” Sodexo features tray-less dining, local sourcing, water and electricity conservation,  APEX chemicals, purchasing alliances with ecologically sound manufacturers, and farmer’s markets from which proceeds support Urban Gardens in the Bronx.  

For more information, visit www.fordham.edu/hospitalityservices or contact Brian Poteat, Sodexo General Manager at Brian.Poteat@sodexo.com.