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| Inspection raises concerns about jail food contractor |
| By Fort Worth Star-Telegram |
| Published: 03/08/2004 |
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A surprise pre-dawn inspection of breakfast preparations at a Tarrant County (Texas) jail facility raised new concerns about unsanitary practices by the food contractor, county officials said last Tuesday. The unannounced check by county Purchasing Director Jack Beacham and other officials at the Green Bay jail Friday found that inmate meals were being transported in a rented panel truck with dried, spoiled food caked inside. A stench wafted from the open back of the truck, which was later cleaned but still failed to meet health standards for transporting food, Beacham said. "We have great concern about whether the company is able to do what they were hired to do," Beacham said. An Aramark Correctional Services spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment last Tuesday from the Star-Telegram, but she has said that the company's services meet the terms of its contract. Aramark took over the jail's food service in December from Mid-States Services. But two weeks ago, county commissioners told the company that it would lose its contract if it didn't improve service within 30 days. At the time, Sheriff Dee Anderson said inmates were bordering on revolt with a deluge of complaints about rancid food, unsanitary conditions and substandard offerings. More than 100 inmates had refused a meal at the medium-security Green Bay facility because of poor quality, officials said. Anderson said last Tuesday that Aramark had made noticeable improvements recently in food quality, quantity and selection. But he said the discovery of the dirty truck raises new questions about the company's ability to keep the contract. "This has to be viewed as a setback, if nothing else," Anderson said. "All we have done is put the company on notice. There hasn't been any decision to rescind it." The Tarrant County Public Health Department looked over the truck after it was cleaned and found that bits of food were still inside and that food oils had soaked into the wood, making it unsuitable for transporting meals, said David Jefferson, the department's environmental health manager. Aramark has been notified that it must be more careful and fix its problems, but it is not yet facing further sanctions, he said. |
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