By BEN O’CONNOR
Last week, a friend of mine shared something rather disturbing: she had found a maggot in her broccoli. Obviously, this piqued my interest, especially because it had occurred in Beloit’s own commons, via Bon Appétit. Wanting to verify whether it actually happened (as there is a campus culture of hating on Commons), I asked to meet up with her and get the whole story and any verification she could give me. She ended up showing me a picture of the broccoli, and there was indeed a medium-sized fly larva resting under the brussels. I verified that the image was taken by her (via photo details) and it was after verifying the image that the situation really sunk in.
Before I continue further, I would like to acknowledge that this is not an attack on the quality of food flavor and whether it is enjoyable, as many people on campus often do share their complaints with the taste (myself included). Rather, I intend for this article to be a host of concerns regarding the health safety and preparation of the food at commons in the cases of food allergens, dietary restrictions, and general food preparation safety. Our privilege to complain about our quality of food is coming from the position of being able to attend a rather expensive private institution, and it is from the perspective of having that privilege that we must approach this issue, now and every day. Yes we are due what we pay for, but we should not overstep what we are entitled to. I also acknowledge my identity as a white, male-presenting person and my inherent removal from other culture’s experiences.
The person in question who received a grubby surprise in her broccoli was Ellie Ousley‘26. I sat down to talk with her, and she shared how it was any normal day at Commons. She found the insect after gathering a plate full of broccoli, and had only stopped right before eating it. “I didn’t know what I was looking at, I knew it was an insect and I thought it was a maggot so I looked it up and it was a maggot and I almost passed out,” Ousley shared. “I was like, I’m about to have a panic attack.” This fear was not unfounded, as it would be some level of shocking to find a bug in your food for anyone.
Curious about how a fly larva could make its way into an organized catering service’s food, I did some further research. It was difficult to come up with a concrete determination of why there were maggots in the food, but my working theory is it was the larva of a fly or moth that is often found eating the leaves of broccoli or cabbage plants. These bugs are to be expected from plants that are meant to be grown organically and sustainably, but this event leads me to think that the food at Bon Appétit is not being properly checked and washed.
While this theory does not have the most evidence behind it, other testimonies and my own experiences lead me to believe that the Bon Appétit cleanliness policies are somewhat lax. After sharing the story of the maggot in the broccoli, Ousley went on to say “at that point, I wasn’t even surprised when I saw a worker touching the burgers with their bare hands.”
According to Ousley, there had been a Bon Appétit worker who was touching burger meat with their bare hands, and then wiping their hands on their pants. As someone who underwent the process of learning food service safety and cleanliness, that is a huge red flag, as it could lead to future cross contamination between the red meat (or other meat used for the burger) and other halal,kosher, or vegan options.
Cross contamination also becomes an important point when we think of dietary restrictions, alongside inaccurate or lacking food signs, generally in terms of food allergies (I do not have much context for religious reasons, and in order to have an opinion or make conclusions I would need to interview and research more). As someone who has mild to serious food allergies, this can be incredibly frustrating. It is often unclear which burger meat is vegan or vegetarian friendly, which can make it confusing to vegetarians and vegans as to which food they can eat. The gluten options are also incredibly limited (partially in terms of lacking food availability and limited food options for picky eaters), leading some people I know to come into Commons and realize they cannot eat anything available to them. For someone who has fruit and vegetable allergies that can lead my throat to close up considerably, I also need to be careful with which raw produce I consume, as cooking the fruits and vegetables negates the allergenic effects. Having limited fruit options and vegetables that are often not fully cooked, I have to be extremely careful as to what I eat for risk of an allergic reaction.
I know that this article may seem slightly unfinished, or inconclusive. This is because I have not done enough research and observation to elicit any big conclusions that are not accusatory without evidence. I plan on, in the coming weeks, to do more research into Bon Appétit, the general availabilities of food, the opinions and anecdotes of students at Commons (if you are interested in sharing an experience reach out to me via oconnorbc@beloit.edu), and the requirements of a catering company in terms of health and nutritional yield.
I do not wish to bring any hate or negative feelings towards the employees of Bon Appétit, as I purely believe it is the fault of the company and its management that leads to this lapse in food provisions, not its local employees (student and non). I am also speaking from the position of privilege in terms of having the prerequisite of having edible food, and this deep dive is on already existing processes and practices of Bon Appétit at Beloit College.
I want to be able to serve justice to the poor relationship between unsanitary or unsafe food services and students’ required meal plans, as my and others’ tuition money is being spent on food that is not wholly available to us. The process to which we receive our meals should be better streamlined and direct towards students’ needs.
Featured Image Credit: Ellie Ousley‘26
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