The quality of food served in University dining commons is of major concern to students -- but all of diners' favorites, including nachos, deli meats and the revered chicken cosmo, are inspected regularly for health requirements.

The process by which the food is inspected is quite extensive, as is its name -- Hazard Analysis/Critical Control Point Approach (HACCP).

Dave Gingher, manager of the HUB Eateries and coordinator of the University's version of HACCP, said Penn State adopted the method in Fall Semester 1988.

The system gets down to the nitty-gritty of food inspection, he said.

"The old system of seeing if the ceilings are clean doesn't cut it today," he said.

Gingher said members of a selected team of inspectors go into University eating establishments once a semester on surprise visits to check a variety of "critical control points." Those include everything from the receiving of products to the cleaning and sanitizing of equipment and the temperature of the food.

"The main thing is holding the food at proper temperature," Gingher said. Bacterial growth that causes such food-related diseases as salmonella results from food that is not maintained at the proper temperature level, he said.

Gingher said if products violate the temperature requirements, it is not taken lightly.

"This is big-time serious stuff," he said. "We're feeding thousands of people here."

Managers of University dining commons find HACCP to be a good method of inspection.

"I think it's a great program," said Pat Balash, manager of Waring Dining Commons. "It keeps us on our toes."

When members of the inspection team go to University eateries, they fill out an inspection form by checking off whether or not certain categories conform to HACCP standards.

"We've been fortunate enough not to have a serious problem," Gingher said, but added, "Depending how picky you want to be, there's always something you can find."

On Oct. 13, a HACCP investigation found two nonconformities at the Redifer Dining Commons snack bar, Gingher said. Four chicken cosmos were found at 100 degrees when they are supposed to be 140 degrees, and some tuna was found at 60 degrees when the recommended temperature is below 40 degrees.

Bea Shimmel, Redifer manager, said as with any business, it's hard to do everything right all the time.

"There's no time you can have a 100 percent inspection," she said.

Gingher said that by using the HACCP procedure, the inspection team was able to trace the problem with the chicken back to a faulty thermostat on a fryer and the problem with the tuna resulted from an employee forgetting to refrigerate large cans of the product before mixing it with mayonnaise.

Shimmel said she gave her employees a week to fix the problem, and since a follow-up inspection on Nov. 3, HACCP found no nonconformities at Redifer's snack bar.

John Rogers (senior-broadcast cable), a student manager at Redifer, said employees at the snack bar now pay special attention to taking the temperature of food on the line every half hour.

Balash said Waring Commons had a problem with its deli bar because meat was not staying cold enough. She added that there also has been a problem with warmers on the food line not maintaining enough heat.

Gingher said that when food is not at the proper temperature, it is either removed from the line or reheated.

"When in doubt, throw it out," he said.