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ABINGDON – Herb Proffitt scrutinized the ceiling in the cafeteria dishwashing room at Rhea Valley Elementary School.

A small section appeared hastily patched and in disrepair – a relatively minor flaw but still a violation.
For 35 minutes, the health inspector examined every section of the cafeteria, particularly the food-preparation area. It was the last of two inspections he’s required to make at Rhea Valley this year.

Like restaurants, school cafeterias undergo health inspections annually. It’s especially critical that cafeterias earn high marks because children are more susceptible to food-borne illnesses than adults, said Terry Goins, district supervisor for the Tennessee Department of Health.

“We have to make sure food is served in a safe and sanitary manner,” he said. “(If not), it would be the children who suffer.”

WHAT IS AN INSPECTION?
Each state’s health department has its own set of regulations, based on U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommendations, that govern cafeteria inspections.
In Tennessee, school cafeterias typically have two unannounced inspections each year, but it can happen more frequently.

State inspectors use a 44-item checklist to classify regulations, and 13 are considered critical. Critical violations are assigned to items more likely to contribute to food contamination, illness or environmental degradation. Noncritical violations can’t directly cause the same repercussions but could impede cafeteria operations.

Examples of noncritical violations are a chipped knife, stained ceiling tile or a trash bin left open. Critical violations include those involving food temperature, toxic-item storage and poor hygene.
The classifications of noncritical and critical violations are similar in Virginia.

Each item has an assigned value, with critical violations carrying a greater weight. Inspectors subtract the value of each violation from 100 to obtain a final score.
Tennessee inspectors must have four-year degrees, and they undergo a three-week state training session and complete about six months of on-site job training. The Northeast Tennessee region has 10 health inspectors among the 71 inspectors statewide.

Virginia inspectors give food facilities a narrative inspection that does not include a letter grade or numerical score.

The inspections detail how cafeterias violate regulations and provides instructions for correction.
Inspectors said it helps identify more accurately where violations occur.

The frequency of the inspections also varies based on the classification of the food establishment, but regulations require at least two inspections each year for cafeterias. Most cafeterias are considered low-risk establishments because they don’t do much food preparation; their workers mostly reheat already-prepared items.
Each health district has a staff of health inspectors who attend a one-week state training session and receive ongoing training from their district supervisors to evaluate facilities according to complex regulations.
The Mount Rogers Health District employs 14 field inspectors whose duties range from rabies control to swimming-pool sanitation, tourist-establishment sanitation and food sanitation.

The Cumberland Plateau Health District employs nine field inspectors, and Lenowisco Health District employs eight among 379 inspectors statewide.

Cafeterias typically have better inspection scores than restaurants because cafeteria workers have more training and experience and stay on the job longer, Goins said.

HOW CAFETERIAS STACKED UP
Recent inspection results varied by county, but few cafeterias passed inspections without violations.

Inspectors found that several cafeterias stored foods at improper temperatures, used dirty utensils and had dead bugs in their kitchens.

In Wise County schools this fall, reports indicated that five of 14 cafeterias had foods stored at improper temperatures. Inspectors checked one of the county cafeterias, Powell Valley High, five times in two months and chronicled repeat violations on nearly every occasion.

A note on the inspector’s report said a hearing would be scheduled if all violations weren’t corrected.

The violations have been corrected, and health inspectors said they wanted to set up meetings with area School Boards to address maintenance problems in schools, such as cracked kitchen floors, that cause repeat violations and will be costly to repair.

In Smyth County last fall, inspectors noted that methods to control pests, especially flies, weren’t effective at Chilhowie High School. At Marion Senior High this fall, teachers smoked in the storage room and appeared to be loitering in the cafeteria. In addition, refrigerators contained moldy foods such as cabbage, according to reports.

In the same county this fall, Saltville Elementary had 10 violations on its most recent inspection – one for visible accumulations of soil on equipment.

One dishwashing machine in Lee County did not reach the required temperature for cleaning, while another did not have a working thermometer. At Rose Hill Elementary this fall, an inspector found hot food at improper temperatures and rust inside an ice bin.

In Sullivan County, Tenn., mouse droppings were spotted in the stockroom at Sullivan South High School in May. At Colonial Heights Middle School in September, no water was running at the sink in the employee bathroom, and Sullivan Central High School had to throw away 782 pounds of food because of a malfunctioning cooler in August.

Only two school systems – Bristol Virginia’s and Dickenson County’s – emerged from their fall inspections without any critical violations. Both, however, had noncritical violations.

PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS
If a school gets a noncritical violation, the inspector points it out and requests that it be fixed, but no sanction is imposed.

If a school cafeteria has a critical violation, an inspector returns within 10-25 days to make sure it has been corrected. If it hasn’t, the inspector seeks a closure letter and returns within a few days to check again.
If the violation remains, the inspector can cut off food service.

In Virginia, if a school has a noncritical violation, the inspector points it out and sets a correction deadline for no more than 90 days later.

If a school cafeteria has a critical violation, inspectors will return within 10 days to make sure it has been corrected.

If critical or noncritical violations continue, the state can penalize a cafeteria by revoking or suspending permits for operation or even charging operators with criminal penalties.

Weather emergencies and equipment failures aside, Tennessee and Virginia cafeteria heath inspectors said they had not heard of a school cafeteria closure in recent years.

INSPECTORS’ CONCERNS
At Rhea Valley Elementary, Proffitt’s inspection was fairly easy. He knows the cafeteria and its employees, he said, and he knows they usually have good inspection results.

That’s not the case at all the schools he inspects, and in some places the number of students has outgrown the cafeteria’s ability to feed them in the most sanitary way, he said.

Another problem for older schools has become the condition of the facilities, which can lead to violations.
“Some schools are over 50 years old, and maintenance can be an expensive undertaking,” said Gerry Bailey, a senior environmental health inspector for the Lenowisco Health District. “They’re going to have to budget for them.”

Because schools can’t fix their problems immediately, health districts try to work with schools to get them in compliance with state code over time.

Still, Proffitt doesn’t hesitate in marking the ceiling at Rhea Valley as a violation.

“I’m not doing my job thoroughly if I don’t mark that,” he said. “It’s the potential for what could happen if the ceiling is not repaired.”

He imagined potentially dangerous scenarios like a paint chip falling into food or someone choking on a piece of plaster.

A noncritical violation doesn’t impact the quality of food, he said, but if not corrected, it could cause problems.
Critical violations should raise a red flag, he said.

“You have the potential to make so many people sick, and they often can be corrected so easily,” Proffitt said. “Any critical violations, and (administrators) should be concerned.”