Borough schools ace food service audit

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Maggie Bradshaw serves up chicken nuggets last fall in Naugatuck High School. The food services in Naugatuck public schools recently aced a surprise audit. –RA ARCHIVE
Maggie Bradshaw serves up chicken nuggets last fall in Naugatuck High School. The food services in Naugatuck public schools recently aced a surprise audit. –RA ARCHIVE

NAUGATUCK — Naugatuck public schools’ kitchens, employees and methods passed a surprise audit with flying colors.

The audit, which is done on a yearly basis by the National Sanitation Foundation, found very little to be concerned about.

Sodexo Food Services Director Kate Murphy explained the audit took place at Naugatuck High School, Western Elementary School and Salem Elementary school earlier this month. The findings of the audit were reported during the Board of Education’s meeting last Thursday.

Assistant Business Manager Robert Butler said the only issues were a missing plate, a dust issue and a couple of lights that were burnt out.

Murphy said that, as of last Friday, most of the problems had been corrected.

Murphy explained the auditors come in and check the flow of the food as it comes into the schools, is stored, cooked, served, and disposed of. The auditors also make sure the employees are following proper hazard analysis and critical control points regulations, which is a set of rules for the prevention of accidents in commercial food kitchens.

The auditors also make sure that the refrigerator, freezer and cooked food temperature logs were all up to date and completed.

“It ensures the health and safety of all the students and staff that eat the food,” Murphy said.

Murphy knows that earning an outstanding report from the NFS was no accident.

While the outside audit only occurs once a year, each kitchen manager runs the same audit monthly in each of the school’s kitchens, Murphy said.

“We audit ourselves to make sure were doing everything properly,” Murphy said.

The other reason that the schools received an outstanding report from NFS is that everyone takes pride in their work, Murphy said.

“We’re very happy the National Sanitation Foundation came in and gave us an outstanding report,” Murphy said.