Fanshawe operates at gold standard in food safety
Whether they're munching on stir
fry from the Seven Seas in Oasis or
sitting down for a first-class lunch
at Saffron's, diners on campus can
rest assured that Fanshawe's 14
food service locations are operating
at some of the highest standards in
Ontario.
A food audit of the three food service providers on campus — Chartwells, Fanshawe Student Union and the School of Tourism and Hospitality — was completed by the Guelph Food Technical Centre (GFTC) in February. In May, the food service providers received the results of the audit: they all received Gold ratings.
The auditors spent three days on campus to rate the food service providers' compliance with current legislation and Ontario food safety guidelines, including employee practices, food handling practices, sanitation and equipment.
Dave Smith, manager of retail services at Fanshawe College, is the chairman of the College's Food Service Committee. “We started the food safety audit in 2007 as a result of the E. coli outbreak at Western. We wanted to be proactive instead of reactive, because it was pretty serious — people got sick and we didn't that to happen here.”
That year, Smith hired the GFTC to conduct a thorough investigation into all food providers on campus. The providers received a Bronze rating, meaning they scored in the 85 to 89 per cent range. “It was certainly passable, but we knew we had room to improve,” Smith said. “We wanted to get to the gold standard” and achieve a mark of at least 95 per cent.
Since 2007, all food service providers on campus have been steadily improving. “This past year was the best we've ever had with the food service audit,” Smith said. “It shows our three food service providers are working together for the common betterment of food safety.”
The Student Union, which runs the Oasis cafeteria, The Out Back Shack bar and the Falcon's Nest variety store, received a mark of 96.75 per cent — the highest rating of all the food service providers at Fanshawe.
“I'm very happy for the entire (Student Union) Hospitality team. They worked well and hard to achieve this goal,” said Ismael Viegas, the Student Union's hospitality services manager and a member of the Food Service Committee.
“We're not going to stop there — we're always looking to improve,” he continued. “Even with this food audit, the 96.75 leaves us 3.25 per cent to improve. We're going to do our best to see how we can achieve that 3.25 per cent.”
The Tourism and Hospitality department, which runs Saffron's Restaurant, Olive Oyle's and the prep kitchens, received a score of 95.26 per cent. Chartwells, which runs all other food providers on campus, received a score of 96.21 per cent.
“We don't have to get audited; we do it because we want to do it,” explained Viegas. “We do it so that we can show everybody that not only are we at the average 60-something per cent that it takes to pass the health inspection; we're in the 90s. That's a big deal.”
Smith said he was “very pleased” with the way Fanshawe scored this year. “I'm very thankful that we have a Health and Safety department that takes this very seriously. They're the ones who handled this — Brenda Henry and her group.”
A food audit of the three food service providers on campus — Chartwells, Fanshawe Student Union and the School of Tourism and Hospitality — was completed by the Guelph Food Technical Centre (GFTC) in February. In May, the food service providers received the results of the audit: they all received Gold ratings.
The auditors spent three days on campus to rate the food service providers' compliance with current legislation and Ontario food safety guidelines, including employee practices, food handling practices, sanitation and equipment.
Dave Smith, manager of retail services at Fanshawe College, is the chairman of the College's Food Service Committee. “We started the food safety audit in 2007 as a result of the E. coli outbreak at Western. We wanted to be proactive instead of reactive, because it was pretty serious — people got sick and we didn't that to happen here.”
That year, Smith hired the GFTC to conduct a thorough investigation into all food providers on campus. The providers received a Bronze rating, meaning they scored in the 85 to 89 per cent range. “It was certainly passable, but we knew we had room to improve,” Smith said. “We wanted to get to the gold standard” and achieve a mark of at least 95 per cent.
Since 2007, all food service providers on campus have been steadily improving. “This past year was the best we've ever had with the food service audit,” Smith said. “It shows our three food service providers are working together for the common betterment of food safety.”
The Student Union, which runs the Oasis cafeteria, The Out Back Shack bar and the Falcon's Nest variety store, received a mark of 96.75 per cent — the highest rating of all the food service providers at Fanshawe.
“I'm very happy for the entire (Student Union) Hospitality team. They worked well and hard to achieve this goal,” said Ismael Viegas, the Student Union's hospitality services manager and a member of the Food Service Committee.
“We're not going to stop there — we're always looking to improve,” he continued. “Even with this food audit, the 96.75 leaves us 3.25 per cent to improve. We're going to do our best to see how we can achieve that 3.25 per cent.”
The Tourism and Hospitality department, which runs Saffron's Restaurant, Olive Oyle's and the prep kitchens, received a score of 95.26 per cent. Chartwells, which runs all other food providers on campus, received a score of 96.21 per cent.
“We don't have to get audited; we do it because we want to do it,” explained Viegas. “We do it so that we can show everybody that not only are we at the average 60-something per cent that it takes to pass the health inspection; we're in the 90s. That's a big deal.”
Smith said he was “very pleased” with the way Fanshawe scored this year. “I'm very thankful that we have a Health and Safety department that takes this very seriously. They're the ones who handled this — Brenda Henry and her group.”
