Point Park University dining hall receives multiple health department violations

PITTSBURGH — Point Park’s dining hall received a dozen violations from the Allegheny County Health Department.

The report highlights mold and other issues inside Lawrence Hall.

Students told Channel 11 they were not surprised.

“I really avoid the dining hall,” one student said.

Of the 12 violations, two were considered “severe.”

One dealt with cleaning and sanitization. The report cited a potato dish and utensils soiled with old food debris.

The other covered cross-contamination issues. A pizza cutter and other tools were stored in stagnant, dirty water.

“I happened to be in the dining hall the day they found the bug in the potatoes and, earlier, I had those potatoes, so I was very grossed out,” freshman Julia Werner said.

“It’s really unfortunate that we’re paying so much money for a dining plan with such a lack of priority on our health,” freshman Ava Breese said.

Channel 11 reached out to Point Park University and was directed to a statement by vendor CulinArt.

“As the food service team serving the Point Park University campus community, there is nothing we take more seriously than the health and safety of the students and the food we serve. We have a strong track record of health inspection scores. In fact, the facility has maintained its Green Placard Status, which means it is “inspected and permitted” to operate with no consumer alert. However, we take every concern very seriously and recognize there are always opportunities for improvement.

Our standard process is to immediately address any item as soon as it is identified and work to ensure that it does not happen again. Students can rest assured we are continually providing additional training for our staff. This includes conducting our own daily inspections, as well as working with top health and safety experts to ensure that we remain focused on meeting and exceeding expectations every day.

Equally important to us is the desire to hear directly from the students. We encourage students to raise any issues directly with our team if they occur. This allows us to immediately investigate a situation and reach a solution very quickly.

Further, we are in full compliance with city and state guidelines to ensure food safety and sanitation practices are adhered to at the highest levels. As such, we will continue to make use of our resources including, but not limited to, Risk Management, Quality Assurance, Culinary, Marketing and a Certified Independent Third Party Sanitarian.”

Students we spoke to say the dining hall already has a reputation and it’ll take a while to change it.

“I feel like it’s kind of already public knowledge amongst the students,” senior Madeline Bedford said.

“I think that the issue now is going to be less about what they are doing about the quality of the food and more about regaining the trust of the students,” Breese said.

The dining hall is still operating and a follow-up inspection is set for Oct. 14.

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