Sage Hill closed for rat droppings

Sage Hill School’s cafeteria last week was shut down for a day, after county health inspectors found rodent droppings in a storage room and suspended the cafeteria’s health permit during an unannounced visit.

The Newport Beach private school’s cafeteria was shut down midday Nov. 5 after lunch had been served, Head of School Gordon McNeill said.

It reopened the next morning, when the school’s health permit was reinstated.

“There was no disruption to food service,” McNeill said. “The truth is, if they had come in at 7 a.m., it would have been a problem.”

Any evidence of rodents is considered a major violation by the county health department because it poses the highest risk of causing food poisoning or food-borne illness.

“Based on that, they shut you down; they rescinded our license for that time,” McNeill said. “They said, ‘If you do X, Y, Z’ — basically clean up a little bit — ‘then we’ll revisit you guys in the morning.’ We were reinstated the next morning at 7 a.m.”

The school uses the independent contractor Stargrazers to operate its cafeteria, McNeill said.

“They did everything they were asked to do,” he said. “They’ve been with us since the school opened. ... This allowed them to look hard at what they’re doing. We’re not putting any consequences on them; we told them we have complete confidence in them, based on how they handled the situation.”

The school enrolls 431 students, more than half of whom typically order lunch in the cafeteria, McNeill said; the cafeteria is distinct in that it is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and serves snacks and beverages to students throughout the school day.

Other minor violations the cafeteria was docked for Nov. 5 included unapproved pesticides, chemicals or labeling; an infestation or evidence of activity of other types of vermin in a critical area; unsanitary equipment, utensils, linen or plumbing; and improper holding temperatures of potentially hazardous foods, like chicken.

Such health violations are relatively common throughout the county.

University High School’s cafeteria in Irvine was shut down Nov. 4 due to a rodent infestation, county inspection records show.

It reopened the following day.

McNeill said the rodent issue at Sage Hill may be partially attributed to the fact that the campus is relatively rural by Orange County standards; it is surrounded by fields.

“It’s not unusual for us to see hawks and bobcats at night,” he said.

But McNeill said the school also takes full responsibility for the issue.