University Cafeteria Research Articles

Biogas Production from Dining Hall Waste and Landfill Leachate in a Two Stage R&D Facility

Taking into consideration recovery dining hall waste from university cafeteria and nutrient reduction of landfill leachate, they were mixed at a temperature of 36±1°C and for a period of 90 days in a two stage biogas production R&D facility with a total volume of 5m3, and then experiments were done. Experiment-I was performed to engage the second digester as a priority, and Experiment-II was performed to engage the first digester. After the required bacteria formation was ensured, the first digester was daily fed with mixture of dining hall waste with 10% solid matter content and landfill leachate weighing 167 kg in total regularly feeding in Experiment-III. Analyses and measurements of total solids (TS), total volatile solids (TVS), C% and N% percentages, pH, volatile fatty acid (VFA) and inhibitive of the organic waste samples were measured from the feedstock, digesters, and fertilizer tanks. In addition, daily biogas samples were taken and concentrations of CH4(%) with mass flow rate of the biogas were measured. The results showed that in case dining hall waste and landfill leachate was mixed, the first digester worked at pH values of around 4.5–5.5 and performed the task of hydrolysis and acidification. The second digester performed the task of bio-methanation successfully.

Student experiences with traffic-light labels at college cafeterias: a mixed methods study.

SummaryObjectiveTo assess student perceptions of traffic‐light labels (TLLs) in college cafeterias.DesignCross‐sectional, mixed‐methods study.SettingOne northeastern US college.ParticipantsA total of 1,294 survey respondents; 57 focus group participants.InterventionsSeven‐week traffic‐light labelling (green = ‘nutrient‐rich’, yellow = ‘less nutrient‐rich’, red = ‘more nutrient‐rich choice in green or yellow’) intervention at two college cafeterias.Main Outcome Measure(s)Perceptions of TLLs and food labelling; disordered eating behaviours.AnalysisPerformed χ2 analyses to test for differences between pre‐intervention and postintervention responses, and between postintervention subgroups stratified by site, gender, weight status and varsity athlete status. Qualitative analysis based on the immersion‐crystallization method.ResultsIn postintervention surveys, 60% found TLLs helpful, and 57% used them a few times a week. When asked whether TLLs increased risk of developing eating disorders, 16% of participants said they did and 47% said TLLs might exacerbate existing eating disorders. In focus groups, some students thought the red ‘colour seemed jarring’, but the vast majority agreed ‘the more nutrition information available, the better’.Conclusions and ImplicationsStudents generally supported TLLs, but future college‐based interventions should address eating disorder concerns. Labels that incorporate nutrition information and education, and avoid negative messaging or judgment of what students eat, may be more acceptable.

The effects of facility, food value, and service quality on perceived value and satisfaction of university cafeteria

The effects of facility, food value, and service quality on perceived value and satisfaction of university cafeteria

Balancing Comfort and Energy Use for Sustainable Buildings: Thermal Comfort Modeling using a Space-variant Manikin

To help balance comfort and energy use in residential, institutional and commercial buildings in order to make them more sustainable, a thermal comfort model is coupled with a computational fluid dynamic approach. The developed tool provides an effective tool for demand side management of energy use in buildings. The asymmetrical thermal environment in a university cafeteria building is modeled, and a two dimensional numerical simulation is prepared separately of the thermal sensation in the cafeteria. A finite volume formulation is used to provide the temperature distribution around a space-variant manikin, which is in turn utilized to determine the convective heat transfer coefficients for the simulation of thermal sensation around the manikin.

Research on Automation-based Innovative Design of College Cafeteria Facilities

In this paper, based on the construction of college cafeteria facilities, the current status and innovation designs of cafeteria facilities are analyzed, and the functional defect and innovative design of college cafeteria facilities are discussed to propose the concept of automation-based design of cafeteria facilities with empirical study provided, which provides a new idea for the design of college cafeterias.

Microbiological Assessment of Food Contact Surfaces in Residential College Cafeterias at a Local University in Malaysia

A food premise’s sanitation level can be reflected by the cleanliness of its food contact surfaces. Contaminated food contact surfaces along with poor handling methods by food handlers may increase the risk of foodborne diseases through cross-contamination events. This study aimed to assess the microbiological contamination levels on food contact surfaces of 12 residential college cafeterias in a local university and its correlation with the cafeteria’s premise grade. The presence of selected indicator and pathogenic microorganisms (total viable count (TVC), total coliform, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., and Shigella spp.) on food contact surfaces were also determined. Cutting boards, knives and utensils (cutleries, bowls and plates) that were used for ready-to-eat food were sampled for this study. The cafeteria’s premise grade was obtained based on the food premise inspection report by the university Health Centre. Three cafeterias have significantly higher (p 0.01). This study demonstrated that the sanitation level of food contact surfaces in the residential college cafeterias was only average. Improvements need to be done to increase the sanitation level of the cafeterias, thus assuring the safety of the food for consumers. DOI : http://dx.doi.org./10.17576/JSKM-2018-1602-05

Science Fiction and the Avant-Garde Spirit: An Interview with Han Song

A journalist for Xinhua News Agency by day and science fiction writer by night, Beijing-based Han Song mines his daily experience as a journalist for his science fiction works, which are often dark and experimental in combining social elements with new forms and styles. Interviewer Chiara Cigarini decided to ask him some questions regarding his poetics and his production, focusing in particular on “Moban,” a short story centered on Beijing’s subway. In the spring of 2014, they met outside Peking University cafeteria. After the interview, reality began to look a bit like science fiction when they both took the subway home.

Nutritional quality of food consumed by students in the university cafeterias as a risk factor for non-communicable chronic diseases

Nutritional quality of food consumed by students in the university cafeterias as a risk factor for non-communicable chronic diseases

Effect of preheating waste cooking oil on biodiesel production and properties

ABSTRACTWaste cooking oil from the university cafeteria was used as feedstock to produce biodiesel. The feedstock was then converted to biodiesel using two different methods. The two methods tested were with and without preheating to study the effect of preheating on biodiesel. For each one of the two methods two types of catalysts were used that is alkali and acidic. The effect on biodiesel yield, calorific value, viscosity, and density was observed. It was found that with preheating to higher temperatures, the yield was 87% with alkali catalyst and 70% with acid catalyst. On the other hand, without preheating, it was found that the yield using alkali catalyst was 98% and 75% using acidic catalyst. Further, the highest calorific value was obtained using alkali catalyst without preheating.

Exploring customer satisfaction with university cafeteria food services. An empirical study of Temptation Restaurant at Taylor’s University, Malaysia

Abstract This study investigates the link between the different service characteristics that have an influence on customer satisfaction in university cafeteria food services. A conceptual model comprising of different variables like food and beverage quality, service quality, food choice, price and value equality, and ambience were studied for customer satisfaction to explore the relationship among them. This study examined how dining experiences influence the satisfaction and loyalty of both non-mature (students) and mature (staff) customers, in order to find their similarities and differences within the context of university cafeteria services. The study was conducted at Taylor’s University in Malaysia by using a quantitative research approach, and 231 students and 63 staff members of the university participated in the study. The findings reveal that the various quality factors considered in the study are positively correlated with customer satisfaction and have a significant impact on the satisfaction level of both students and staff who dined at the university cafeteria. It could be concluded from the results that the influence of price offered at the university cafeteria had a significant effect on respondents’ loyalty. The result of this study offers a direction towards better the services and facilities, which lead to an increase of the competitive influence of the restaurant business in the marketplace.

Baseline for food waste generation – A case study in Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia cafeterias

Increasing population and economy status have contributed to the increasing volume of solid wastes produced in Malaysia and it creates problems on the existing solid waste management system. Ineffective waste management system was one of the issues that often discussed. The purpose of this study was to suggest the best method for managing food waste in Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) cafeterias. The scope of the study was to identify the type and quantity of waste generated in each cafeteria. The study area was carried out at six cafeteria in UTHM including residential college cafeteria which are Tun Dr. Ismail (TDI), Tun Fatimah (TF) and Tun Syed Nasir (TSN), G3’s cafeteria, Arked, and Dr. Munie’s cafeteria located at the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering (FKAAS). In this study, food waste was quantified in unit of kilogram (kg). Results of the study showed that total food waste in selected UTHM’s cafeterias was 6197.5 kg for two months. Food waste generated in G3’s cafeteria was the highest value with 1823.5 kg among another cafeteria. This is due to strategic location for students and staff to take meals, the variety of food sold and reasonable price were major factors of generating food waste. Meanwhile, the Dr. Munie's Cafeteria located in FKAAS recorded the least total production of food waste as staffs and students take their meals at others cafeterias. Through literature review, there are list of methods on waste management were identified and composting method was suggested for food waste management in UTHM since the waste was produce in very large quantity.

Energetic analyses of installing SOFC co-generation systems with EV charging equipment in Japanese cafeteria

Energetic feasibility analyses were conducted when an SOFC CGS with EV charging equipment is installed in a facility with a high hot-water demand and a high thermo-electric demand ratio. The university cafeteria located on the Hitachi Campus of Ibaraki University in Japan was selected as an installation target because its electric and hot-water demands fulfilled the intended criterion of a high thermo-electric demand ratio. It was made clear that the merits of a co-generation system are not optimal in the case a gas water heater is selected as the backup hot-water supply. To solve the problems contributing to this bad result and to improve the performance, the authors next selected a heat pump water heater as the backup hot-water supply. It was made clear that this system possesses sufficiently high energy savings performance. It was also shown that the coexistence and co-prosperity of the cafeteria and EV charging equipment are successfully achieved. These results reveal that an SOFC CGS with EV charging equipment can be a feasible candidate for a future energy supply system installed in Japanese cafeteria, which is a facility with a large hot-water demand and a high thermo-electric demand ratio, by adopting a heat pump water heater, instead of the usual gas water heater, as the backup hot-water supply.

A green model for the catering industry under demand uncertainty

In this study, we design a catering supply chain involving production and service management. The production management involves food production lot-sizing and delivery scheduling decisions, while the service management is associated with balancing the food service lines. If production is in excess of demand, the food waste occurs along the catering chain. If the quantity produced is less than demand, this leads to a shortage. To address this problem, we develop a stochastic programming model accounting for the key performance indicators of total waste, total shortage and total cost of production and distribution. The selected indicators enable to assess the sustainability performance of the catering supply chain. The numerical study reflects real settings from catering operations of a university cafeteria in Turkey. For a sustainable development of catering supply chains, the analyses reveal the potential benefits of outsourcing (e.g., decreasing total costs by 36% and waste costs by 23%), employing qualified staff and increasing capacity through process improvement.

Prevalence of salmonella in different poultry and meat food products in Hebron district: a prevalence study

BackgroundSalmonella continues to be a leading cause of food-borne enteric disease in many countries and is responsible for substantial human suffering, loss of productivity, and mortality. Although the disease is underreported, an estimated 1·4 million people were affected in 2008 in the USA, with an overall health cost of US$2·6 billion. Poultry meat is an important vehicle of food-borne salmonella infections in people; the proportion of all salmonellosis cases that are associated with meat and poultry consumption was about 29% from 2004 to 2008. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of salmonella in raw, precooked, and cooked food poultry and meat food products in Hebron district, occupied Palestinian territories. MethodsAs part of the routine activities of environmental health inspectors in Hebron Public Health Directorate, 61 poultry and meat products (sausage, grilled chicken, cooked shawarma, chicken turkey, steak turkey, boneless chicken, frozen chicken, spiced uncooked shawarma, and schnitzel) were collected from restaurants, university cafeterias, and hospitals and transported to the central public health laboratory in Ramallah in portable, insulated cold-boxes. Among these samples were 11 cooked and 50 raw or ready to cook products. Salmonella tests were conducted by the team at the central public health laboratory of the Palestinian ministry of health. FindingsSeven samples (11·5%) tested positive for salmonella: two samples of frozen chicken (3·2%); two of schnitzel (3·2%), and three of turkey (4·9%). All the samples that positive were uncooked. InterpretationNo salmonella was found in the 11 cooked samples, which suggests that effective cooking can eliminate contamination with salmonella. Subsequent spread of salmonella may occur during processing due to cross-contamination. However, assessment of the true risk to public health from salmonella-contaminated poultry meat and of the benefit of reducing contamination is complicated by several factors operating between farm and fork. FundingNone.

College Cafeteria Signage Increases Water Intake but Water Position on the Soda Dispenser Encourages More Soda Consumption

ObjectivesTo evaluate the effects of improved water location visibility and water dispenser position on the soda dispenser on undergraduate students' beverage choices. MethodsTwo focus groups with pilot intervention surveys before and after, adding a small sign above the soda dispensers' water button for 6 weeks in a large US university's all-you-can-eat, prepaid dining hall (measured with chi-square tests and logistic and ordinal logistic regression). ResultsFocus groups included 15 students. Survey participants included 357 students before and 301 after the intervention. After the intervention, more students reported ever having drunk water with the meal (66.4% to 77.0%; P = .003) and water consumption frequency increased (P = .005). Postintervention, the odds of drinking water increased by 1.57. Preference for other drinks was the main reason for not drinking water. A total of 59% of students had ever changed their preference from water to soda. Conclusions and ImplicationsThe clear indication of the water's location increased students' reported water consumption. Further investigation is needed into how a non-independent water dispenser influences students' beverage choice. Clearly labeled, independent water dispensers are recommended.

The Acute Effects of Nutrition Labels on Beverage Consumption in a College Cafeteria

Previous research is inconsistent in determining if nutrition labels on food and beverages influence consumer behavior. PURPOSE: To determine the acute effect of nutrition labels on consumer beverage consumption in a college cafeteria setting. METHODS: Consumption for 13 beverages in a university cafeteria was recorded over a two-week period. Week one acted as a control week (CW) and week two as an experimental week (EW). Nutrition labels were placed above beverage dispensers after the CW. Beverages included five enhanced water, five milk, and three juice options. Daily consumption was measured by tracking the total amount of beverage restocked divided by the number of cafeteria patrons (mL/number of patrons). In addition, to better understand the effect of the nutrition labels a three question follow up survey was administered at the end of the two weeks in the cafeteria during dining hours (N=150). One-way ANOVAs were employed for significance testing. RESULTS: Passion orange guava (POG) was the only beverage to have a significant difference in consumption between the CW (3.73±1.21) and EW (2.11±1.44), p=0.041. No other enhanced water flavor, type of milk, or juice significantly differed in consumption, p>0.05. Overall, total beverage consumption did not significantly differ between the CW (19.57±4.76) and EW (16.80±9.43), p=0.502. The results of the survey indicated 95% of cafeteria patrons noticed the nutrition labels, but 71% responded the nutrition labels did not influence their behavior towards selecting a particular beverage or the quantity of the beverage consumed. However, 61% of all the respondents preferred having nutrition labels available. CONCLUSION: Nutrition labels appear to have an acute influence to decrease beverage consumption of POG, but not beverages such as milk, enhanced water, or other juices. Further research is needed to determine why nutrition labels may influence the consumption of some products, but not others.

A Study on the Decontaminated Efficiency of Ultraviolet Device on the Indoor Airborne Bacteria

The aims of this paper were studied bactericidal effect of the ultraviolet lamp on irradiation intensity, irradiation time and installation height. Three independent variables were set, such as irradiation intensity, irradiation time and installation height. By natural sedimentation method, the airborne bacteria were sampled before and after radiation of ultraviolet lamp, then the decay rates of airborne bacteria were calculated. The decontaminated efficiency were more than 40% when irradiation power of UV were 30w (42.5%) and 40w (60%). With the lengthen irradiation time, the better reduced rate of the airborne bacteria. The bactericidal effect of the ultraviolet lamps was in proportion to their irradiation intensity and in inverse proportion to their installation height. According to the actual circumstance of university cafeteria, the arrangement of ultraviolet lamp was that irradiation intensity was 40W, installation height was 2.0m, and irradiation time was 60min.

Taking the Challenge for Real Food: Student Engagement in Procuring Sustainably Produced Food on Campus

In the fall of 2011, a graduate seminar in applied environmental sociology at a southern university in the U.S. took on a project to help an undergraduate student environmental organization obtain local and sustainably produced food for the university cafeteria. The aim was for our seminar to use community-based research (CBR) to help Reconnect, the student club, drive social change. An important objective was for the seminar students to apply their academic skills to helping the student club while acquiring the new skills developed through engaging in social change. In this reflective essay, we share our experience as a team of practitioners utilizing a community-based research approach in working with an undergradu­ate student group to launch a campaign to get local and sustainably produced food into the university cafeteria. During the project, we encountered many challenges yet had many accomplishments. For instance, there was resistance from the university’s corporate food vendor, which ultimately prevented Reconnect from realizing local and sustainable food in the university cafeteria. However, we helped Reconnect build capacity for the initiative and catalyzed other institutional successes includ­ing laying the groundwork for a permanent farmers market on campus.

International Students’ Perception on University Cafeteria in Malaysia

The number of higher education institutions in Malaysia is increasing and continuously attracts a large number of international students. Therefore, it is important for foodservice operator to understand the perception of international students towards the university cafeteria in order to create student satisfaction. The aim of this study was to identify the perception of international students towards the university cafeteria, and this paper explored four research questions in order to identify the factors affecting it. The findings of this paper included a list of factors such as food quality, choices and sanitation, price, ambience and facilities and service quality of the cafeteria. This research significantly enabled the foodservice operators to gain deeper knowledge about the factors that influence the perception of international students towards the university cafeteria, which can meet the quality standards of the university.

International Students’ Perception on University Cafeteria in Malaysia

International Students’ Perception on University Cafeteria in Malaysia