As Sodexo's corporate offices attempt to build public relations about their commitment to serving nutritious foods by heavily promoting the issue of healthy eating in the past month, The Washington Post has released a timely, scathing critique of the food in a government cafeteria serviced by Sodexo.
Last week, The Washington Post staff chowed down at the cafeterias of various federal government buildings in Washington, D.C. The exercise in eating was a taste test of the results of new government food service contracts that were put in place to encourage the use of healthier, organic and local food. The Post rated the food at seven federal cafeterias on availability of healthful options, variety and taste. One of the worst-scoring cafeterias was the Sodexo-serviced South Café at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
As Jane Black writes about the 100-calorie snack packs filled with cookies and chips, she noted that, "there was plenty [of food items] that a PR guy could tout as healthful."
But among the other food served by Sodexo at the South Café were cheese quesadillas with 780 calories and 53 grams of fat, a chicken entree "as dry as sawdust," slices of frozen pizza and a chicken sandwich with reheated pre-cooked meat. Even an employee was taken aback by the meals served at the country's own executive department for farming, agriculture and food.
"Are you reviewing the food here?" a U.S. Department of Agriculture employee asked when she spied me scribbling notes near the salad bar. "Because it's disgusting. We are the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There is no reason why the food can't be appetizing and appealing."
Sodexo's use of pre-cooked meat in federal services is nothing new. And experience shows that when such precooked foods are prepared centrally, safety risks at the source of production can spread to the point of sale. In 2001, the U.S. Marine Corps consolidated its food service contracts to save money. When awarded the contract, Sodexo centralized some of its Marine Corps food production at a "cook-chill" facility in Tennessee. Food was prepared, frozen, and shipped around the country to be reheated on base.
But in 2007, Sodexo ended its Marine-related operations at the facility, one month after the USDA issued a voluntary recall of nearly 3,000 pounds of chicken that may have been contaminated with bacteria. Some of the recalled chicken had been shipped to Camp Pendleton and the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego.
In April of this year, Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (CA-47) called for an investigation of Sodexo for possible food safety concerns, as Sodexo nears the end of its eight-year contract with the Marine Corps. Sanchez's office recalls public records that show there had been "a pattern of food safety problems" at the Tennessee facility, including 70 USDA records of food safety noncompliance between December 2005 and September 2009.
As Rep. Sanchez said of Sodexo's expensive contracts, "The government has an obligation to use taxpayer dollars responsibly." But above and beyond government contracts, Sodexo also has an obligation to follow through on their promises: if the company is touting healthy food options, they should be serving healthy food options in their cafeterias nationwide.
The Washington Post review was just one cafeteria. But what Sodexo serves its customers should meet their purported standards of quality, and it makes you wonder what they're feeding America's teens and children at schools and universities across the country.
If Sodexo is going to push the importance of fresh and nutritious foods on us in their public relations, they need to step up to the plate and act on their commitments.