Carnegie Mellon students sickened from on-campus eatery, officials say

Food safety inspectors from Allegheny County report finding violations in a campus eatery at Carnegie Mellon University after the school said numerous students reported symptoms consistent with a foodborne illness.

The Allegheny County Health Department inspected Stack’d Underground in the basement of the Morewood Gardens residence hall on Thursday. Their report indicated several violations ranging from high- to low- risk in such areas as food temperature maintenance, date marking of food, employee personal hygiene and cleaning and sanitation.

The eatery’s website says Stack’d Underground is a food concept by Mero Restaurant Group. A message left Tuesday on its website was not returned. The eatery opened in October, according to the university’s website.

Campus officials and the health department inspection report say immediate corrective actions were taken and confirmed in a return inspection on Friday.

The university said “numerous” students were sickened. Spokesman Peter Kerwin on Tuesday could not provide the exact number. He said the university was encouraging those who showed symptoms to notify campus health officials or their own health provider.

Some were already doing so.

“University Health Services acted quickly following numerous students reporting symptoms,” the university said in a statement. “Upon learning that these students all consumed food from the same on-campus eatery around the same time, the university promptly contacted the Allegheny Health Department to inspect the third-party food vendor and enforce safety protocols.

“The vendor implemented immediate corrective actions and a re-inspection on Friday confirmed proper safety measures. We are working with impacted students as they recover,” it continued.

There are 13 independent vendors contracted by Carnegie Mellon Dining Services, said Kerwin, and each is required to adhere to all sanitation and food preparation standards.

Kerwin said each is inspected twice-yearly by county health officials.

“Additionally, CMU pays for EcoSure, a third-party food safety inspection company, to conduct thorough inspections throughout the year,” he said. “In the wake of this circumstance, those inspections will be increased.”