Parents notified after Troy school staff pulls bug-infested broccoli
By Janet Lundquist jlundquist@stmedianetwork.com February 8, 2013 3:42PM
U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, speaks to graduates at the Joliet Job Corps. | submitted photo
Maps
Updated: March 11, 2013 6:45AM
The seventh-graders at Troy Middle School had a good excuse not to eat their broccoli at lunch Friday.
An adult at the school, 5800 W. Theodore St., Joliet, discovered insects in the vegetables, school officials said.
The students may not have even seen the bugs as school staffers pulled the broccoli immediately, said Don White, superintendent of Troy School District.
“There’s potential that we could have served it to kids,” White said. “Some of them eat broccoli.”
White said he did not know what type of insect was in the broccoli. The broccoli was only served during the seventh-grade lunch hour at the middle school, he said.
Friday afternoon White sent a message to the students’ parents notifying them of the incident.
“We don’t anticipate any issues, however we want to make sure all the kids are safe,” White said, adding that he asked parents to watch their kids for potential illness. “Student safety is our main concern here.”
The broccoli was provided by Berkeley-based Preferred Meal Systems, Inc. White said the company was working with its supplier to get to the bottom of the issue.
Ken Trankowski, spokesman for Preferred Meal Systems, said Friday afternoon that the company takes situations like this one very seriously.
“There was an issue with the fresh broccoli,” but added that this type of situation does not happen often, Trankowski said.
