Students question the cleanliness of Brodhead Center silverware

How clean is the silverware at the Brodhead Center? The answer may be a bit messy.

Students have recently complained on a Fix My Campus Facebook post about possibly unclean silverware in the Brodhead Center. Senior Suman Bajgain said in the post that he accidentally discovered that many of the spoons may not have been washed all the way. 

He went to wash the spoon he had just picked up with water after noticing a stray spot on the utensil. When he started washing it, he started feeling an abnormal slipperiness—possibly from soap that has not been completely washed off, he said. Finding this slipperiness odd, Bajgain tested many different utensils by running them under water. He said about one-third of the time, he found that the utensils became soapy or slippery.

“I think the spoons are less clean—I haven’t used the spoons for a while now,” Bajgain told the Chronicle.

Bajgain said he did not actually know if the spoons are dirty, but he sensed they are less clean than they should be. Though he feels a bit guilty, he said he now uses plastic utensils because he knows for certain that they are sterile. 

Marcus Carson, assistant director of sustainability and quality assurance manager for Duke Dining, sent a statement from Duke Dining in an email to The Chronicle. The statement said that the health and safety of the Duke community is their first priority. 

“Duke Dining contacted the manufacturer for the facility’s dishwasher to inspect the machine, as well as the third-party company that manages and inspects the dishwasher operating standards in accordance with the Durham Department of Health and FDA guidelines,” the statement said.

Second-year master of engineering management student Tanaya Amar wrote in an email to The Chronicle that she has also found that the utensils are not always clean. After ordering her favorite crepe at the Cafe, she realized one of the forks looked as if it had not been cleaned properly. Assuming this incident was a one-time issue, she let it go.

However, on another evening, hoping to enjoy her crepe, she encountered another dirty fork that looked like it had Nutella on it and had already been used without washing. She thought that maybe someone accidentally put their used fork there, but that did not make much sense to her.

She explained that the utensils were right next to a pile of dirty plates, which was in itself off-putting, and that many dirty or used boxes are often placed next to the utensil holders. Amar added she still uses the silverware as long as they look clean.

“[I hope Duke plans to] create a general awareness among employees to ensure the utensils are clean and put better cleaning processes in place,” Amar wrote.

The Duke Dining statement said that Dining will continue to monitor the dishwasher machine’s performance to guarantee that it is operating safely.

Discussion

Share and discuss “Students question the cleanliness of Brodhead Center silverware” on social media.