SF State restaurants have no major health violations, according to the San Francisco Department of Public Health (DPH), but that doesn’t mean that they’re perfect.

Campus vendors are required to go through random health inspections two to three times a year. Out of the 21 eateries inspected by the department this year, only four had recorded violations. According to the DPH website, Gold Coast Grill, Carmen and Themar’s Taqueria, A New York Minute and Taza Wraps and Juice all had minor violations that warranted corrections, but weren’t serious enough to require closure of the eatery.

“It’s random when they (DPH) come,” said Selene Sam, operator of A New York Minute. “If you get written up, you have to post it up where customers can see, and if you don’t fix the problem they might close you down.”

All four vendors were cited for minor violations such as inadequate cleaning and hand-washing supplies; improper holding temperatures for food items; and contaminated or dirty kitchen equipment. Infractions were fixed and re-inspected, according to DPH records.

Inspectors especially check for proper food holding temperatures; proper cooking procedures; kitchen equipment; pest and vermin infestation and general cleanliness. Violations are categorized into either minor, which do not pose an imminent public health risk, and major, which warrant immediate closure of the establishment, according to the DPH website.

When a violation is found, the owner of the establishment is given a deadline by when the problem must be fixed. If this does not occur, the operator will be called into an administrative meeting and must explain the failure to fix the infraction. If the violation persists, continual meetings are scheduled and fines could be issued. Unless the violation is major, the establishment will remain open during the process, said Eileen Shields, public information officer for DPH.

“It’s a case by case process, and the establishment will not necessarily be closed down for dirty conditions,” said Shields. “The philosophy of DPH is that we want to work with the vendors not close them down.”

Some vendors look sloppy and are careless, so some students choose not to buy food from school, said business senior Katsufumi Araki.

“It’s horrible that cleanliness isn’t a top priority,” said creative writing senior Brian Raymond. “A place should be shut down if it’s not clean. Vendors should be inspected more so that they have to always be up to code. Then students wouldn’t have to worry about the food they buy on campus.”

Although some students think that the conditions of food vendors at SF State are dirty, cinema junior Kate Lasher thinks they are acceptable and are better than fast food places that many students eat at regularly.

“I’ve worked in the food service industry, and it gets dirty. That’s just how it is,” said Lasher. “People think the slightest bit of dirt will kill them, but what they really need to worry about is bacteria. The conditions of where the food is prepared won’t kill you.”

The residential dining center on campus is inspected by DPH three times a year.
They are also inspected by an outside auditing firm to insure a higher level of health quality than is required by DPH, said director of residential dining services Matt Almeida.