Inspectors from the Rhode Island Department of Health look at 56 things when they evaluate school cafeterias, including proper handwashing, indications of rodent droppings, and food temperature regulation.
Rhode Island schools receive assistance from the Health Department’s Centre for Food Protection to comply with food safety regulations. Every public and private school receives two annual inspections by inspectors; however, if serious infractions are discovered, institutions are subject to additional scrutiny.
Hand washing, maintaining adequate food temperatures, and cross-contamination are among the most frequent serious infractions, according to Brendalee Viveiros, the director of the Centre for Food Protection, who spoke with Target 12.
“If there are critical violations, that’s an imminent health hazard,” Viveiros said.
According to her, serious violations are issues that have a higher chance of resulting in disease.
Although Viveiros stated she could not remember the state closing a school cafeteria recently, she acknowledged that the Health Department has the last say on whether or not to do so.
The five biggest public school districts in Rhode Island—Providence, Cranston, Pawtucket, Warwick, and Woonsocket—had their inspection reports examined by Target 12. According to the R.I. Department of Education’s most recent enrolment data, Providence Public Schools served more than twice as many students in the 2022–2023 academic year as Cranston Public Schools.
After reviewing inspection data, Target 12 discovered that from fall 2021 to spring 2024, there were 80 infractions in Warwick, 165 in Woonsocket, 180 in Pawtucket, 254 in Cranston, and 380 in Providence.
Several schools conducted reinspections last year.
For example, a steam table bay at Cedar Hill Elementary School in Warwick was discovered to be in poor condition by inspectors when they visited the school in October.
Two weeks later, an inspection was conducted again, and this time they discovered that the bay still hadn’t been fixed and that a hamburger wasn’t the right temperature. November’s second reinspection revealed that the school had fixed earlier problems.
After discovering mouse droppings behind a milk case and vending machine at Samuel Slater Middle School in Pawtucket in February, inspectors were forced to conduct follow-up visits. Further droppings were discovered during a reinspection in March, and the school was given the order to keep up increasing pest management, keep an eye out for activity, and clean up any droppings.
During a February inspection, Francis J. Varieur Elementary School revealed that the kitchen’s floor tiles needed some repair and there were signs of pest activity. Upon doing a follow-up inspection in March, the Pawtucket school was discovered to still have the issue. As a result, the school was instructed to keep up with additional pest control, keep an eye out for any activity, and continue cleaning up all droppings.
With 35 infractions since 2021, Cranston High School West has the highest number of infractions of any public school in the city, according to Target 12. Last year, ten infractions were discovered.
A dead mouse was discovered under equipment in the main service line, and inspectors discovered an “accumulation” of rodent droppings throughout the kitchen during a regular inspection in February. Inspectors discovered poor water pressure in a hand sink and reported a repeat infraction against the school after discovering paint on the ceiling in the ware-washing facility, which is where dishes and utensils are cleaned.
In addition to finding a buildup of old rodent droppings inside the bottom drawer of the deli handwashing sink and floors in the generator room and ware-washing room, inspectors noted that the chipping paint was still not fixed in a March reinspection.
According to Viveiros, inspectors typically discover greater signs of rodent activity in older structures or in the autumn and winter. It’s not always regarded as a serious infraction, according to her.
“What we don’t want to see is rodent droppings in food,” Viveiros said. “Sometimes we might see rodent droppings on floors or shelving, and this is actually a good opportunity for us to increase prevention and monitoring.”
In Woonsocket schools, there were no reinspections conducted the previous year.
Tuesday marked the start of classes at the Providence Public School District, which is run by the state.
According to Target 12’s analysis, 188 infractions were discovered in PPSD schools during the 2023–2024 academic year. These findings came from two reinspections at Vartan Gregorian Elementary School and Central High School, as well as reinspections at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary, Del Sesto Middle School, and Hope High School.
Early in February, inspectors discovered that Central High School’s equipment had “an accumulation of food and debris,” that a door leading outside did not fit tightly, that there were repeated mouse droppings in a dry storage area, and that single service items were near the rodent droppings.
There were even more infractions when inspectors returned to Central for a reinspection at the end of the month. More mouse droppings were discovered all throughout the building, food cans were seen stacked on the floor, an open dumpster outside, and a loose door had not been fixed. A bag of rice “was observed with gnaw marks.”
When inspectors returned in March for a follow-up examination, they discovered that the dumpster was still uncovered and that there was “an accumulation of dust, dirt, food residue, and other debris” in a milk cooler.
Dr. Javier Montañez, the superintendent of Providence, informed Target 12 that he was not sounding the alert at any schools.
“I think we’re doing a pretty good job,” Montañez said. “When I say we’re doing a pretty good job, know that we always say there’s always room for growth.”
To reduce health breaches, the superintendent stated that the district is still working towards its 2030 goal of placing all kids in new or “like-new” schools.
“We want to make sure that our students are in facilities that they deserve, making sure that everything is top shape and that everything is working before the opening of school,” Montañez said. “When it comes to the older facilities, sometimes we have to take extra steps to make sure that we’re fixing any of the issues that may come up.”
Montañez stated that the district increased garbage disposal from three days a week to five in February to maintain clean facilities and cafeterias. According to the superintendent, recycling and composting initiatives have been implemented to make schools greener.
