‘I would like to get a meal plan and eat on campus, but it’s kind of scary’

*Editor’s notice: The Spectrum spoke on the document to 1 scholar who’s concerned in Campus Eating and fears backlash from their employers. The Spectrum doesn’t often grant anonymity to sources except they “might face hazard, retribution or different hurt,” as enumerated within the SPJ Code of Ethics, however has made the choice to take action right here to be able to shield this individual’s id. The nameless scholar will probably be referred to by the pseudonym of Wendy Smith all through this story.

All through highschool, Scarlett Topilow maintained a gluten-free food plan for her celiac illness with out hassle. 

However since coming to UB, she has discovered it tough to seek out locations to eat that may accommodate her gluten-free food plan. Topilow, a freshman enterprise main, has needed to take care of substitutes which can be “low cost and nasty.” 

Many college students with meals sensitivities have expressed that UB offers them restricted choices for substitutions, and within the circumstances the place there are substitutions accessible, it’s a very difficult course of.

“They all the time have baked items in C3, however there’ll by no means be good gluten-free baked items. The one possibility they’ve is a really crumbly and tasteless brownie,” Topilow mentioned. “It does get upsetting seeing truffles and cookies and pies, and you then’re sitting right here with a brownie that actually falls aside if you contact it.” 

Topilow says that there are a “respectable quantity” of gluten-free choices on campus, however a number of them don’t style good. 

“They’ve gluten-free pizza, nevertheless it’s like consuming mushy cardboard that doesn’t have taste,” she mentioned. “Or they’ve gluten-free pasta however once more, it’s like consuming cardboard with sauce and cheese.” 

Topilow is upset as a result of there are “actually nice gluten-free sorts of pasta on the market,” however believes the varsity doesn’t wish to spend cash on one thing that’s costlier. 

“It might be nice to have meals that I may eat and really get pleasure from, that’s not a game-changing request,” Topilow mentioned.

Topilow isn’t alone. UB college students with meals allergic reactions and intolerances mentioned UB offers them restricted and infrequently difficult substitution choices, leaving them feeling ignored by the college.

Cross-contact points 

Wendy Smith*, a senior geology main who additionally has celiac illness, has gotten sick from cross-contact with gluten a handful of occasions this semester. One occasion was so extreme that she was hospitalized.

“Each single time I am going to C3, I find yourself with meals poisoning from cross-contamination [cross-contact],” Smith mentioned. “In eating halls like C3 and even Goodyear’s Fundamental St. Market, they [the workers] will go into the again and make the [gluten-free] meals, however they’ll use utensils or the same house that’s shut sufficient to an space that’s being ready with gluten.”

College students have additionally confronted related issues at One World Café, which she avoids. 

“Virtually each single place has horrible cross-contamination [cross-contact] or solely has gluten. I haven’t even bothered with One World [Café],” Topilow mentioned.

Samuel Magaseyev, a sophomore undecided main with a extreme peanut and tree nut allergy, says  Campus Eating employees aren’t educated sufficient concerning the elements of the meals they’re serving to serve college students with allergic reactions. 

“I went to the Indian place [Tikka Table] at One World Café, and I requested one of many employees, ‘Are there any nuts in any of this meals or any cross-contamination [cross-contact]?’” Magaseyev mentioned. “And the man didn’t know what I used to be saying. His coworker type of crammed in for him and was like ‘No, no nuts.’ After which I scan one of many barcodes and it mentioned ‘Might comprise peanuts.’”

The identical incident repeated itself at Pan Asia in One World Café solely weeks later.

Magaseyev says there’s “a number of inconsistency” with the employees, and believes that employees ought to be “educated higher on how extreme allergic reactions are.” Their acts should not malicious, he says, however provides that employees’ errors may very well be life-threatening.

Cross-contact points aren’t restricted to the bigger eating halls. Maximilian Atkins, who has a shrimp allergy, has had a number of shut name cross-contacts with shrimp on the Governor’s eating corridor have pressured the sophomore communication main to remain on his toes.  

“There’s been a few occasions the place there was cross-contamination [cross-contact]with my meals,” Atkins mentioned. “They [the workers] would all the time use the identical tongs that they used to choose the shrimp, for every thing else. They consistently combine it.” 

“Campus Eating and Outlets (CDS) managers are required to move Menutrinfo’s Allertrain U certification course,” Raymond Kohl, director of promoting and communications for Campus Eating and Outlets, mentioned in an e-mail to The Spectrum. “It’s an ANAB-accredited, manager-level, gluten-free, and meals allergy coaching course for faculties and universities.”  

The coaching program focuses in massive on cross-contact prevention. 

CDS coverage states that “all questions on meals allergic reactions, elements, recipes, and/or preparation strategies ought to be directed towards a common supervisor, chef, or dietitian.”

Kohl said that front-line and scholar staff are instructed to inform a supervisor if a buyer states they’ve a meals allergy or are gluten-free and that they need to not reply allergy-related questions. 

College students are additionally inspired to alert a supervisor of their meals allergic reactions on the GET cell app and self-ordering kiosks.

Labeling points 

College students have additionally confronted issues with meals labeling and QR codes that don’t work.

“You go to One World [Café] and the barcodes aren’t working and simply don’t let you know what the meals incorporates half the time,” Magaseyev mentioned. 

Magaseyev desires the QR code to point out expanded lists of what elements the meals incorporates. Most meals gadgets are solely labeled as containing “a couple of allergen” with out additional specificity.  

Atkins has additionally skilled issues with meals labeling on campus.

“Within the Governor’s eating corridor, there’s a large granola dispenser. It incorporates coconuts, cashews, and peanuts however there’s no signal,” Atkins mentioned. “It has the elements confronted towards the patron, nevertheless it’s not in daring print and most of the people don’t learn superb print.”     

CDS “labels and flags all meals that has allergy alerts for fried gadgets and baked items,” Kohl mentioned. 

Fried gadgets are flagged with “cross-contact might happen in fryer” listed on NetNutrition and diet line indicators. Areas with baked items have purple allergen stickers reminding prospects that they’re produced in a facility that handles main allergens.     

“That is an addition to labeling meals that comprise any of the massive 9 allergens,” Kohl mentioned. 

CDS employees even have practices to cut back cross-contact in storage areas and within the placement of things on the service line. 

“We group extremely allergenic meals collectively or bodily separate them from the service line,” Kohl mentioned. “An incredible instance is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They’re ready on a separate chopping board, bodily away from different gadgets.” 

Lengthy wait occasions 

Even when they’re able to attain a supervisor, college students nonetheless have to attend to get their meals particularly ready. 

“At this time, I went to Sizzles and it took 40 minutes to get tater tots as a result of there’s a selected air fryer [to use], and there are different individuals who want it, too. It’s very time-consuming,” Topilow mentioned. “The difficulty with ordering forward is I don’t all the time know after I’m going to eat as a result of I’m learning and doing different issues, so timing may be very tough.”

Additional precautions are taken to organize allergen-free and gluten-free meals which can enhance wait occasions, Kohl says. 

“College students are inspired to make the most of the GET cell app or arrive at areas throughout much less busy occasions,” Kohl mentioned.

When a supervisor is alerted {that a} buyer has a meals allergy, intolerance, and/or gluten-free they’re educated to observe a number of steps to keep away from cross-contact when making ready an allergen-free meal. 

These steps embrace “washing palms and placing on new gloves, utilizing devoted gear, and a particular allergen-free meals prep equipment. The employees are additionally instructed to make use of recent elements or backup elements that haven’t touched the service line,” Kohl mentioned. “If a mistake (cross-contact) happens through the preparation of the allergen-free meal, the supervisor should discard the meal and begin over.” 

Easy Kitchen

UB constructed and opened a brand new Easy Kitchen within the Governor’s Complicated originally of the semester for college students with meals allergic reactions and sensitivities. The kitchen is “a pantry that’s free from meals containing wheat, gluten, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish,” in line with Kohl. 

The house is supposed to cut back the chance of cross-contact by offering devoted gear and verified elements for college students to cook dinner their very own accommodated meals. The gear contains storage areas, cookware, utensils, and a devoted dishwasher to scrub all cookware/utensils.

“To keep away from cross-contact on this space now we have the next insurance policies: there’s restricted entry contained in the pantry, no exterior meals is allowed to enter the pantry, and there’s month-to-month allergen testing,” Kohl mentioned.

Though the Easy Kitchen was added to North Campus, college students are pleading for extra choices throughout UB’s three campuses.

“I get that it’s tremendous laborious to take care of the 30,000 college students right here, however it’s tough to take care of [food sensitivities] on a person foundation as nicely for college students,” Meghan Kuhnel, a first-year increased training graduate scholar, mentioned. “There must be extra choices.”

Morgan S.T. Ross contributed to the reporting for this story.

Victoria Hill is an assistant information/options editor and may be reached at victoria.hill@ubspectrum.com

Picture: Courtesy of UBWHWA