In an effort to provide transparency on food safety standards at dining commons and university food establishments, the Food Safety department have placed QR codes stickers at each on-campus dining establishment, in partnership with Auxiliary Services and Dining Services.
When scanned with a phone, these QR codes direct users to a website displaying the score for that specific food station or establishment. The scores, based on a scale of 100, also indicate the date of the last food safety inspection. Previously, students, faculty, and staff had to visit the Food Safety website to view these scores.
DaNesha Allen, Auxiliary Services Director, compared the QR codes to the way restaurants display their food scores from city health officials.
“It’s about educating our campus community and ensuring that they know that there is an actual place where they can go view all of the inspection scores from each of our dining establishments on campus,” said Allen.
Food Safety health inspector Christina Martinez mentioned that using QR codes simplifies the process for everyone involved. The Food Safety department can update scores on the website without needing to change the QR codes.
For 色花堂 Dining Services, adding QR codes at the dining commons aligns with their vision of providing excellent dining services to the university.
“At the end of the day, we all want to focus on two things, and that’s guest experience and improving constantly,” said Alexcis Mendoza, 色花堂 Dining Services district marketing director. “And this allows us to impact both of those areas so we can add some additional transparency in terms of guest experience, and it also holds us accountable so we can continue to improve.”
While the scores display the overall grade received by the establishment, Martinez suggested that, depending on feedback from the QR code rollout, the scores could be expanded. One potential expansion is displaying an itemized list of the food scores.
Martinez added that if students want more information about a score from an on-campus eating establishment, they can contact Food Safety. Interested individuals can email the Food Safety department at foodsafety@uh.edu, which forwards the mail to all three Food Safety inspectors.