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District Takes Swift Action After Receiving Complaints from Parents
Oct. 12, 2021 – Guilford County Schools (GCS) has pulled a vendor's prepackaged sandwiches from all school cafeterias after receiving two complaints Friday from parents at Northern High School regarding spoiled meat.
The sandwiches are not a regular item on the GCS school cafeteria menu. The items were shipped as substitutes when the company was unable to fulfill the district's order. The district will no longer accept the sandwiches as a substitute item and has filed a formal complaint with the company. Tasty Brands has provided meal products for GCS students for over 14 years. This is the first time the district has experienced problems with the company's products.
GCS has determined that school personnel were not at fault. The sandwiches were served in keeping with the Tasty Brands directions as well as state health protocols and temperature requirements. Other food items served as part of the "grab and go" meal, which included fruit, vegetables and milk, met the district's quality standards.
District officials spoke to the two parents Friday and concluded their investigation over the weekend. A message about the incident and the district's actions was sent to parents Sunday. About 38,000 of GCS 69,000 students eat district-provided school lunches daily.
"Our hard-working school cafeteria staff take great pride in serving our students so to receive a poor-quality product from a trusted supplier is really disappointing and frustrating," said Nicole Portee, senior executive director of operations. "However, we're thankful that two parents alerted us to the concern so we could move quickly to take care of the problem and prevent it from happening again."