Health Inspection Reports: How Did Manassas Park Schools Fare?

In a matter of weeks, children will be flocking through the doors of Manassas Park schools for the first day of classes after summer break.

 Meals served at school cafeterias are essential parts of the school day,  so parents may wonder how their children's schools performed on the Prince William County Health Inspection reports.

Resturants and school cafeterias in the county, Manassas Park and Manassas City are inspected between one and four times a year, depending on how much food is made from raw products and how much is made in advance versus cook-to-order.

 There are two types of violations: critical and non-critical.  Critical violations, unless corrected, can contribute to "food contamination, illness or environmental degradation," according to the state health department. 

Non-critical violations are not as severe, but can lead to critical violations if not corrected. 

 Inspectors last visited most Manassas Park schools in February. Manassas Park Christian School was last visited in November 2011.

  and were last inspected on Feb. 23 and neither received any violations.

 The two upper schools were inspected five days later; received no violations, but received one critical violation.

During the visit, inspectors noticed a sausage sandwich wasn’t cooled in a way that would prevent the growth of harmful bacteria, according to the report.

 That violation was corrected during the visit and information about glove usage and the food cooling process were reviewed with cafeteria employees.

 The Merit School on Manassas Drive was also inspected in February and received one critical violation and three non-critical violations during the visit. 

Inspectors noted that the hand washing stations were being used to clean serving utensils, and sponges were being used to wipe the surfaces of equipment that came into contact with food.

The one critical violation was issued because the inspector saw that the spaghetti and meat weren’t adequately cool to prevent the growth of bacteria.

All the violations were corrected during the visit.