Director says Sodexo follows FDA guidelines; students unsure

FRANKLIN, Ind. — The premade items in Sodexo may seem like they stay out for longer than they should, but according to Food Services Director Les Petroff, this is not true.

Items that are kept cool, such as the food in the salad bar, can stay out all day since the cooler is kept below 38 degrees, Petroff said.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, foods can be left out at room temperature for two hours without being cooled, and as long as they are kept cooled at less than 40 degrees, are safe to eat.

Whole fruit remains left out until it has gone bad and is supposed to be rotated on a first in, first out basis so that the oldest fruits are taken first before they spoil. However, The Franklin reporters have observed employees not following this method, resulting in spoiled fruit.

Petroff said he usually tries to go pull bad fruit out of the bins.

“It shouldn’t be just dumped,” Petroff said.

Perishable items such as pizza and premade sandwiches are not supposed to be left out for more than 30 minutes, according to Petroff. Pizza station employees are supposed to track how long a pizza has been out, and toss the remaining slices after time limits are up.

Petroff said Sodexo tracks the amount of waste they produce in order to better prepare for upcoming meal times, but that waste is unavoidable.