Inspections conducted at prisons in Kansas by the Kansas Department of Corrections has found consistent food safety violations in the prison system’s kitchens. Almost 340 inspections conducted between January, 2013 and July 2014 at 19 facilities found repeated deficiencies and noncompliance.
It is considered cruel and unusual punishment to not take adequate care of prisoners, who are under complete government control. In addition, when outbreaks occur, taxpayer money is then spent giving medical care to prisoners and investigating the problem. Lawsuits against prisons have been filed and won by the families of prisoners who have been sickened in outbreaks at prisons and jails.
The violations recorded in the inspections included not keeping proper temperature logs, not having inmate staff up to date on food safety training, and not enforcing hand washing for at least 10 months. Bugs were found in the lights, and a knife was used to keep a dishwasher’s switch in position for months at the Winfield prison. Terms used in the inspections include “filthy”, “dirty”, and “bugs”.
Aramark is the food service contractor for most of the prisons in Kansas. That company has been involved in problems with prison food safety before; most notably in July 2014, when their food service served food crawling with maggots to prisoners in the Parnell Correctional Facility in Jackson, MI. A food poisoning outbreak at that facility in the same month sickened at least 150 inmates. News reports state that Aramark is willing to do work necessary to meet their legal contractual obligations.
