The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania is listed as ‘out of compliance’ with 14 city regulations, according to a report based on a Food Facility Inspection conducted in mid April by the Philadelphia Department of Health.
According to Penn Medicine, the oversights have been corrected.
“Out of compliance” status means that the food handling practices of a facility violate the standards of operation and management required by Philadelphia’s public health officials.
Critical violations of the city health code — more serious than normal violations — at HUP included raw chicken being found above ready-to-eat foods, refrigeration temperatures of 54 degrees rather than the required 41 to prevent bacteria growth and a dishwasher that did not heat utensils enough to properly sanitize them.
Philadelphia hospital kitchens average six violations each in their most recent quarterly inspections by the city health department, according to a July 23 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
HUP Spokeswoman Susan Phillips offered insight regarding the FFI report. “Hospital kitchens are quite different from other institutional settings,” said Phillips, explaining further “They must be able to provide food for general consumption by the public, including hospital staff, as well as accommodate individual patient selections.”
According to Phillips, because of the complex demands HUP’s cafeteria must contend with, the facility out sources its food services.
“Given both the volume and complexity of hospital food service,” said Phillips, “specialized vendors have emerged to better meet these challenges and many, if not most institutions contract out their food services. HUP’s food services are contracted to Morrison.”
In regards to April’s inspection report, Phillips was confident that the areas in question have been carefully addressed and corrected.
“Any items identified in the most recent reports as needing improvement were either corrected at the time of the inspection or within a few hours,” Phillips said, adding, “as with any inspection, the findings cited reflect a single point in time and are not an indicator of overall quality.”
“We welcome inspections and work closely with the inspectors and our vendor to maintain a safe environment.” Phillips said.
