CAN’T eat at the CAN’Teen

DISCLAIMER: This article contains sensitive terminologies; reader’s discretion is advised. Aliases were used to protect the identities of the interviewees as they consented to anonymity. 

School canteens are, undeniably, one of the go-to havens for those who need a quick fix for hunger. Since its comeback post-pandemic in Feb. 2023, the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila’s (PLM) university canteen has offered a wide range of food choices–from rice meals to snacks, and drinks usually given in a “grab-and-go” basis. Yet it begs the question: for foods prepared and served for more or less than 10 minutes, how good–or bad, can it get? 

They didn’t like it raw and dirty

Last month, a Facebook post from the university’s unofficial student online hub garnered more than 300 reactions when a student claimed that her Calamares snack bought from a food stall at the university canteen was raw. 

SEE MORE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/102s8vOzeT7c1sEug9jl7YrCHf0kcOKit/view?usp=sharing 

This post sparked conversations in the comments section with students sharing the same concerns of raw/undercooked food bought from the same food stall at the canteen.

Among them was Khin Jenzen P. Carillo, a 1st year student from the College of Tourism and Hospitality Management. According to her, despite eight times buying the “orange batter hotdog”, she always receives it undercooked. 

“Ang concern ko lang talaga is it’s so undercooked; pina-toasted ko na ang po pero di pa din siya gaano kaluto pero yung batter paitim na,” she said in an interview with Ang Pamantasan (AP).

Yet she still prefers to buy it in spite of the risks of it being undercooked, saying that its price is affordable enough for students who prefer to eat and spend less. 

But for alias “KKK”, a 4th year student from the College of Business Administration, no cheap price is worth the dangerous health risks for foods that are meant to be a student’s noursihment. 

KKK attested that she bought a spoiled kwek-kwek from the same food stall. 

“The foul odor was stronger since nung na-open ko siya and kinagatan ko siya. I tried na pilitin kainin kaso I was getting more and more disappointed. And I left it nalang sa table kasi sabi ko I might get tummy issues later pag pinilit ko,” she said. 

She even mentioned that her friends could still trace the smell from a distance, collectively agreeing with her that it is likely spoiled. This then moved KKK to ask the seller if they could replace the suspected spoiled kwek-kwek.

“Pagdating ko don I told ate it was sira (spoiled). Then she proceeded to explain na baka naligaw lang kasi they buy batches and they don’t know if may bugok na egg. Or maybe I was mistaken daw kasi they use ‘Penoy’ and not the typical chicken egg; She gave me a new one, reheated din but it was still the same. I still smelled foul and (it) didn’t taste nice,” she added. 

The spoiled kwek-kwek dilemma was also the same for alias “S. aureus”, a 4th year student from the College of Science, saying that this became a deal-breaker for him to never purchase from the food stall ever again. 

“Pero eto yung pinakamalala, yung malaking kwek-kwek that was 20 pesos per piece. I bought one kasi ‘wow, may kwek-kwek sa PLM’, so expecting nasa masarap yun kakainin ko so first bite pa lang lasang amoy ng tae ng manok na malansa; tinapon ko na yun agad tapos 15 minutes akong nasa CR nagbabanlaw ng bibig,” he narrated. 

Raw, undercooked, and spoiled food items were just among many other concerns experienced by students from the university canteen. Despite requiring a Sanitation Permit and an Individual Medical Certificate for deployed personnel before lease, food horrors experienced by Carillo, KKK, and S. aureus raises concern among the food safety practices of leased concessionaires at the PLM canteen, nuancing what is supposed to be the university’s safe haven for nourishment could be their ticket en route to the emergency room. 

SEE MORE:

http://archive.plm.edu.ph/downloads/Bids/2017/Space_Lease_FoodStallConcessionaire.pdf

The doctor is in 

According to the Center for Disease, Control, and Prevention, undercooked meat and eggs are more often associated with life-threatening foodborne illnesses such as food poisoning. The University Physician, Dr. Maria Ana Mariano instead highlighted the importance of food safety practices to reduce the risks of food poisoning. 

“Ang food safety practices (is) very important para walang food poisoning sa mga students. Siyempre dapat wala ring magkakaroon ng diarrhea kasi maraming students ayaw mag-aral kapag punta nang punta sa comfort room because of eating raw or spoiled food [...] so kung meron tayong dapat unang titignan, ang sanitation ng kakainin,” she said.

According to her, rooms with high temperatures such as the canteen, could increase the risk of food spoilage so she also advised students to observe how food is being prepared before they purchase it as a safety precaution.

“So malaki ang nagagawa ng pag nakita ng estudyante na first instance may nakain ako, ganito (referring to poor quality) ang kondisyon, do not repeat buying the same kind of food kasi posible pwedeng may error ulit (na) makain na naman (ay) hindi luto. So, somehow, ang lesson din dito ng estudyante is observe first,” she added. 

A new call to action

But KKK believes that students should not be the one to adjust to the convenience that they pay for and calls out to certain university authorities to religiously check the canteen instead. 

“The school should also conduct food safety assessments kasi almost everyone is buying from their stalls and they’re the ones catering them. They were the ones allowing them to rent out the space and sell food. They wouldn’t do anything about it hangga’t wala pang masamang nangyayari? Aantayin pa nila na may student or faculty na magkasakit and potentially file a case for it?” she said. 

Article 12 under Terms of Reference on PLM’s Leasing Out of Space for Food Stall Concessionaires stipulates that two (2) authorities may inspect leased premises anytime (within reasonable hours) to ensure its compliance with food items being sold. If caught red-handed, any food stall concessionaire’s contract may be automatically terminated. 

Ms. Dina Mendez, the director of the Resource Generation Office (RGO) that officially handles all affairs regarding the university canteen, admits in an interview with AP that there was “low or poor monitoring” of the canteen but reassures that they are “doing their best” in keeping the canteen up-to-check. 

“I have one staff (member) who is assisting in handling affairs with the food concessionaire. I have tasked him to really go around every morning or every afternoon to check how the concessionaires are maintaining the cleanliness of the canteen,” she said

This was no easy task for a team of seven, says Mendez since the canteen was just turned over to them three months ago, adding up to four other departments under their wing. 

The RGO head also admitted that she hasn't done any form of food inspection yet since it was transferred to their office and that she is unsure if there were any inspections conducted by its previous handlers.  But upon hearing negative feedback from her staff, she personally apprehended the food stall and reminded them to always observe food safety practices. 

Moving forward, Mendez then reassures the students that they will be thoroughly monitoring the food stalls as they operate until the end of year. 

“We are just starting, we have just started renewing their (food concessionaire) contracts for October, November, and December. [...] We will be strict in monitoring. We will be strict with how the concessionaires are preparing food–that has to be really checked, and be serious about it,” she said. 

A “revamped” canteen under construction  

Aside from monitoring initiatives, the RGO is “in the process” of “revamping” the university canteen. This version is envisioned to have a food hub operator with no duplication of menu items and that “levels-up” the standards in cleanliness and quality of food. Included in these plans is to have “Student Combo Meals” priced at at least 50 Php. 

“This was just turned over to me—to our office, so we are doing little by little, step-by-step on how we can improve. We are actually doing our best. The revamp will happen soon,” Mendez said. 

For the meantime, Mendez strongly urges students to submit a feedback letter to the RGO if they experienced poor food quality emphasizing that it would help them improve their service more.

Meanwhile, KKK suggests trying out made-to-order and pre-order foods sold by PLM students as low as 30 to 100 Php as an additional option to their food choices. 

“There are plenty of co-Haribons who sell foods that are much better than the ones in the canteen. (The) canteen is just for convenience. Haribons are here for the quality,” she said. 

Until then, students like Khin, KKK, and S. aureus are left with “hit or miss” food options in the canteen as they cling onto the RGO’s plans for its revamping where, maybe this time around, they can safely eat in the canteen.