Monday, April 10, 2000
To: University at Albany CommunityThe University reopened Indian Quad dining hall Sunday, April 9, 2000, at 4:00 p.m. To assure your health and safety, several immediate changes have occurred:
- The dining hall opened under the review of an independent monitor, Dr. Thomas Heath. Dr. Heath is a faculty member in the culinary program at Schenectady County Community College; he is a retired Assistant Commissioner of the State Education Department with responsibility for Health curricula; he owns and operates a food-safety monitoring business; and he is a retired superintendent of schools of the Cohoes City School District.
- The two highest ranked managers of Sodexho-Marriott have been released from their positions at the University at Albany. They are immediately replaced by qualified individuals who will remain with the University on behalf of Sodexho-Marriott through the end of this semester.
- All Indian Quad workers are being tested for the presence of E. coli by the Albany County Department of Health. Until workers are certified as having received negative results from those tests, they will not be permitted to return to work in any cafeteria on campus.
- Indian Quad kitchen was reinspected Sunday morning by the Albany County Department of Health, and received a satisfactory rating.
- Indian Quad employees were retrained in food-handling and safety procedures Sunday morning by the Albany County Department of Health.
- It is our intent to place in every cafeteria on campus by next week, an independent registered sanitarian who will have responsibility for monitoring Sodexho-Marriott's employees' food-handling procedures.
A total of six students who ate at Indian Quad during the last two weeks of March have been confirmed as having been infected with E. coli. The Albany County Department of Health has preliminarily identified undercooked or improperly handled hamburgers and/or cheeseburgers as a likely source of the contamination. The Albany County Department of Health has advised that anyone not experiencing symptoms at this time is not likely to become ill. Anyone who wishes to discuss facts about the E. coli infection may contact the University Health Center Medical Advice Nurse at 442-5930.
These precautionary measures have been implemented to ensure your health and safety.
To address the overall issue of food service on campus, President Karen R. Hitchcock is forming a Campus Food Service Task Force, consisting of students, parents, faculty, staff and others. This Task Force will delineate the University�s requirements for providing food service that meets the needs and expectations of our students, faculty and staff, and the meets and exceeds all health standards.
Paul T. Stec
Interim Vice President for Finance and BusinessJames P. Doellefeld
Vice President for Student Affairs
See the earlier April 6, 2000 Update 