The Tartan

On Wednesday and Friday, Feb. 12 and 13, Carnegie Mellon University Dining Services emailed students with dietary restrictions announcing updates to allergen information at Schatz Dining Room.  

Starting Monday, dishes will be accompanied by Product Information Displays (PIDs), a list of ingredients and calories.

Jessica Tones, the program director of nutrition and marketing for Carnegie Mellon’s dining services, provided more insight into these changes. 

In the past, Dining Services has avoided displaying allergen-free labels, both because of safety concerns and because of Chartwells’ corporate policy: “Their policy is not to label allergens,” Tones stated, “they have a lot of standards around labeling.” 

Instead, Chartwells uses icons to denote food as being vegan, vegetarian, or for those avoiding gluten (not directly labeling things as gluten free). Helpful as they may be, these icons aren’t provided for most allergens, which is where PIDs come into play.

“A lot of our students are avoiding ingredients for lots of different reasons,” Tones added. 

People’s allergies and food intolerances can have varying severities and sensitivities, and providing them with an ingredient list allows them to make an informed decision. 

As for the driving force behind these changes, Tones noted having both a new dietitian and a new chef on staff. This is a change that the dining team has been working on for a long time, with Tones attributing delays to supply chain issues throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. With ingredients becoming suddenly unavailable, Schatz Dining Room was forced to alter recipes and make substitutions, making it difficult for dietitians to label allergens. With these supply chain issues resolved, PIDs have become feasible.

Beyond the announcement of PIDs, the dining services email restated options on campus for those avoiding gluten, including a comprehensive list of restaurants and even some specific dishes. 

The list included True Burger, located in the Cohon University Center and The Edge Cafe and Market, located in the Resnik building. Workers at these locations purported not to have the listed options when asked in person, but Tones clarified that these issues were temporary and unintentional. 

True Burger does in fact have a gluten-avoiding bun, employees were just not aware of it. In a follow-up email, Tones stated that True Burger has since informed its employees of allergy options and is now fully offering the buns. As for The Edge, the original gluten-avoiding crust was not kosher, and a new kosher-friendly replacement should be available as of publication.

Tones took this anecdote as an opportunity to relay the importance of conversation and communication between the dietary team and those working in Carnegie Mellon’s dining locations. 

“Student feedback is the greatest driver for us to enhance what we’re doing,” commented Tones. “Chefs and food service operators, they want to do more.”

Here, Tones pointed to The Exchange, located in the Posner building: “They are a really good example. There is a lot of gluten on their menu, but creating that relationship with them allows students to feel that confidence [in the food being safe] and that they’re really taking the time to prepare your food.”

Regarding her own preferred allergy options on campus, Tones recommended Nourish, Carnegie Mellon’s Grubhub-only allergen-friendly kitchen. She argued that Nourish is often underutilized by students, as they “think they need permission in some way to use it,” but, in fact, “it’s open to everyone.” Tones went on to explain that because of strict allergy restrictions, Nourish roasts all of its meat in-house, setting it apart from some other options on campus. “I really like getting grilled chicken sandwiches,” she added, “[and] their cheese melt is really nice.”