This fall, NSU’s Shark Dining is starting a new campaign to help students choose food items that best fit their dietary needs.
Amy Ticknor and Stefanie Furniss, retail operation directors of Chartwells, said that in an effort to adapt to all students’ needs, they have established “Know Your Icons,” which is a labeling system that categorizes food items based on their characteristics. These categories include balanced, sustainable, vegetarian, vegan and made without gluten ingredients.
Balanced items, which is the red icon, signifies the food is limited in calories, cholesterol, sodium, and fats and may improve energy and health. The sustainable icon in light green signifies the food is purchased or produced in a sustainable manner, meaning it may be an organic, locally produced, cage-free or reduced hormone food. The dark green indicates that the food does not contain animal products except dairy or eggs. The vegan icon is light blue and represents a food that does not contain any trace of an animal derived product. The yellow icon stands for a food that is made without gluten or gluten-containing ingredients.
“So if it’s a vegetarian item, the label is going to be there,” said Ticknor.
The “Know Your Icons” system will be implicated through the Chartwells service and in locations in the Don Taft University Center Food Court where ingredients are definitely known such as Subway. However, the managers give caution.
Furniss said, “We cannot guarantee that foods made in UC Food Bar are not 100 percent gluten-free because foods are made in several kitchens and we have no way of monitoring if the food is made without being cross-contaminated.”
This also applies to the monitoring of labels. Ticknor said that while Shark Dining tries to label all items and use appropriate logos on food items, these are meant as a general guide. They cannot guarantee that signs do not get moved around throughout a meal service.
“All signs that make absolute statements such as ‘gluten free’ or ‘contains nuts’ cannot be used in the shark dining facility due to the fact that we do prepare other items in our common kitchen that do contain those ingredients,” said Ticknor.
That is why both Ticknor and Furniss have recommended that the Chartwells service is the best method of obtaining foods for students with extreme sensitivities because the items are packaged and guaranteed to be either gluten-free or without nuts. The packages in Chartwells contain the “Know Your Icon” label to easily detect what foods are safe for the student to eat, rather than taking a bet on the Shark Dining services that cannot provide a guarantee.
They urge the students to ask the chef or manager about ingredients so they can provide the information students need to make the best decision on their own.
“The person who knows the allergy the best is the one with the allergy. And it is the responsibility of the student to seek the resources they need based on the severity of their allergy,” said Furniss.
The Shark Dining Management Team handles all allergies and celiac cases on an individual basis and encourages guests to come and speak with them so that they may create individualized plans based on specific needs. Dining Managers and the Executive Chef will sit down with students who reach out to discuss their allergy, review menu items and ingredients, any specialty items the student may need, answer cross-contamination questions, and develop a plan to fit the student’s dining needs.
According to Furniss and Ticknor, based on the student’s schedule, Sharking Dining will put students in touch with the correct managers. NSU’s three chefs are always happy to custom cook a meal specifically for students using special pans and utensils.
Shark Dining will be listing a number for students to text regarding ingredient questions. While in line, students may text Shark Dining at 954-541-4885. The managers will be alerted and a chef will come out and speak with the student to create a plan to work around that allergy.
For more information about the new labeling system, visit dineoncampus.com/nova or contact Shark Dining at 954-262-5394.
