Canadian university presses Aramark to apologize over raw food debacle

ST JOHNS, Canada — In late March, Rex Coffin received an email from a Memorial University student saying the student inadvertently ate a mostly raw pork chop.

The student said they “spent my entire night vomiting and in severe pain from food poisoning. … This is not the first I have heard of undercooked meats served here and I’m very disgusted.”

A day later, reporters started getting emails from people concerned with the state of MUN food services, and the issue blew up in the media.

Behind the scenes, Memorial University employees were pressing  food provider Aramark to apologize and take a more empathetic approach to the complaints.

“The issue here is not specific or isolated to the recent raw pork chops,” Coffin, director of ancillary operations for MUN, wrote in one email. “As I see it, the issue is that students and parents now perceive that they are getting sub-standard level of service and quality on an ongoing basis.”

The Telegram requested email correspondence between Memorial University and Aramark through access to information; the correspondence provided shows only the MUN employees’ side of the conversation. Aramark emails have been redacted, but may be released after the university consults with the company.

In another email, Coffin said the news coverage was “worse than expected” and “a great deal of harm has been done to Aramark’s reputation and that of residential food service at Memorial University.”

After the story broke in the media, Coffin got more emails from concerned parents.

Aramark has treated the food controversy as a mostly isolated incident. In an emailed statement, Karen Cutler, vice-president of corporate communications with Aramark, said the company did an investigation.

“We were not able to verify the origin of any of the photos that were circulated on social media, but implemented additional training with our staff to ensure they are meeting our high quality standards,” she said.

“Our entire dining team, from the executive chef and director to the managers, servers and culinary staff, continues to focus on improving the quality of the dining experience through ongoing training that incorporates feedback we have received from students and the student union.”

But Robert Leamon, director of external affairs for the MUN student union, said this has been a persistent problem.