Laxatives in the food. Ice cream rejected by the FDA. Food poisoning. Rumors about dining commons food have circulated for years, the truth behind them unknown to students -- until now that is.
Myth 1: There are laxatives in the food: False
"It's ridiculous to think that professional food services would add laxatives to food," said Michele Newhard, Housing and Food Services special projects manager.
"If we were putting laxatives in food, [students'] digestion would be such that they'd be hungrier sooner and would be eating more and more," she added. "That doesn't make sense for the health of the students and would be a waste of food."
The laxatives are rumored to be used in case there is widespread food poisoning. However, dining commons have specific guidelines that must be followed in order to avoid that kind of situation.
"PSU Food Services is dedicated to the customer and we have practices and procedures in place to help prevent food borne illness," Newhard said.
"There are rules that come from ServSafe and National Restaurant Association," she said. "Some of these include cooking at proper temperatures and storing food properly. Units are self-inspected by [Bill Laychur,] the executive chef [of Food Services]."
Kathy Petroff, nurse supervisor at University Health Services, said the main reason students have digestion troubles is most likely the availability of different types of food.
"On the whole, it's eating a wide variety of food that they're not used to," she said.
"The choices they have and the amounts they eat of each could be causing that to upset their digestive system."
Other possibilities include consumption of caffeine and the ingredients in food.
"Having more or less caffeine than you're used to is another possible reason," Petroff said. "Also, what's in the food can cause loose stool."
Still, there are other reasons why students may spend more time in the bathroom than they're used to. "A lot of stuff can throw your system off," she said.
Newhard believes students previous habits can change due to their new environment.
"Personally, I think a lot of people come to college, get really stressed out, are eating differently than they would under the guidance of their families and are not sleeping enough," she said. "Maybe that set of factors begins to wreck havoc on their systems."
Peter Lyon (freshman-history) said that his eating habits have changed since he started eating at the dining commons.
"I've been eating less since I came to school," he said. "I can't eat as much. I get full faster."
Newhard is unsure why the infamous laxative rumor still circulates.
"I think it's one of those stories that started a long time ago with no truth to it at all," she said. "But it continues."
Myth 2: The University Creamery ice cream is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) due to its fat content: False
The only rumor Owen Ricciardi (freshman-psychology and history) heard about food in the dining commons was about the Creamery ice cream.
"I heard that the Creamery ice cream is so high in fat that it hasn't been approved by the FDA," he said.
Tammy Leedy, a supervisor at the Creamery, said that its ice cream is indeed approved by the FDA.
"It has to be or we wouldn't be able to sell it," she said. "The only reason it's not in stores is because we can't even keep up with our own production."
Some students have heard Creamery ice cream cannot be sold in stores because it lacks FDA approval, but Leedy said the Creamery can hardly produce enough ice cream for its on-campus orders. That makes filling off-campus store shelves impossible.
Myth 3: There is starch in the lettuce to improve the nutrition of students with eating disorders: False
"I don't know how we could put starch into lettuce chemically and I wonder what it would look like if it was infused with starch," Newhard said.
She said that students with eating disorders are old enough to realize that they need help.
"We treat our customers as adults," she said. "You need to be responsible and we don't have a say in stopping a student who has an eating disorder."
Myth 4: Grade F beef is served: False
"It's totally the opposite," Newhard said.
Food Services buys meat of the highest quality, she said. It receives it for a good price because it buys such large amounts of it.
"We are able to do it because we purchase it through wholesale," she said.
Myth 5: The dining commons waste a lot of food: False
"At the end of the night, we throw out the contents of the salad bar," Newhard said. "I mean, who would want to reuse food that's been out in the open?"
Overall, however, the dining commons does not throw out a lot of food. With the help of computer software, information can be obtained about anything ranging from food to customers.
"We're not wasting food," Newhard said. "We have a software program we use which contains all the recipes for the food we make. We know which items are popular and when people slow down buying food at the commons."
Another practice called "batch cooking" occurs while the food is being made.
"Batch cooking involves cooking food in portions," Newhard said. "For example, if the meal called for 50 pounds of spaghetti to be made, the dining commons employees would cook ten pounds at a time throughout the course of the meal."
This not only prevents food from being wasted, but also saves the dining commons employees from having to make more food than necessary.
Myth 6: There have been past cases of food poisoning from dining commons food: False
"Occasionally we'll get a phone call with someone saying, 'I ate here last night and I got sick,' " said Lisa Wandel, associate director of Food Services.
However, it is unlikely that food from the dining commons is what causes a student to get sick.
"Food-borne illnesses don't kick in that quickly," Newhard said. "Plus we'd be getting 300 other phone calls if that happened."
Newhard said that dining commons employees follow guidelines so carefully that food poisoning has never been officially reported to Food Services.
"We are so fortunate that the dining commons staff is consciously following ServSafe guidelines," she said. "There has never been a documented case of food borne illness or food poisoning."
Despite the infamous myths, Housing and Food Services (HFS) employees still enjoy hearing feedback from students, said Brook Boone, assistant manager of Findlay Commons.
"I've always tried to talk to the kids to get an honest opinion," she said.
Also, students like Tom Otterbine (freshman-microbiology) seem to enjoy the wide variety of food offered by the dining commons.
"I had heard that the food wasn't good and that I'd have to eat in the dining commons all the time," he said. "But I don't know ... I think it's great."
Newhard believes it is possible rumors circulate about dining commons food because students sometimes shift the blame from one part of their life to another.
"Often times the dining commons is used as a scapegoat for someone who's had a bad day," she said. "Maybe they failed a test or haven't slept all night. We're an easy target."
