Despite California's citrus crop failure and subsequent price hikes, Penn State will continue to buy produce from the state if quality stays up to par, according to food services.

Signs posted in the dining halls this week have been informing students that some menu items may be disappearing.

The signs are non-specific because available produce changes each week.

Food services is having difficulty with quality for some crops, such as cantaloupes, strawberries, romaine lettuce, zucchini and pineapple. It will continue to purchase these items regardless of the cost unless the quality becomes unacceptable, Lisa Wandel, associate director of food services, said.

About half of California's citrus crops have been destroyed by freezing temperatures.

What food services won't be doing is paying three times as much for oranges that are bad quality, opting instead to purchase alternatives such as tangerines and clementines, Wandel said.

Bill Laychur, executive chef for housing and food services, said the purchasing department is working to get the best available products, which sometimes can include canned fruit such as pineapples.

Winter is harder on food services because there are no local options for buying produce, Laychur said.

Last week, food services received a variety of produce from several different states and countries, including Costa Rica, Chile, Texas and California.

Penn State also has to be careful where its produce comes from in terms of sanitation especially after the recent Taco Bell E.coli food poisoning incident, which stemmed from a batch of contaminated green onions.

"We can't afford to have that happen at the university," Wandel said. "We have to be very careful with our sources."

Students should be aware of the situation in California and understand why there may be less to choose from in the dining halls, Wandel said.

"Our students have access to enough media to know that there are issues with produce availability; it's not a surprise, and I would hope they would understand," she said. "We're not Happy Valley, living in a bubble; we don't get strawberries off magic trees."