Editor’s note: This story contains the inclusion of anonymous sources who were granted anonymity in compliance with SPJ Code of Ethics.

This semester, there have been sightings of mice in Roess Dining Hall. 

A photo of a mouse found inside the dining hall was posted to an Instagram account called @appstatefoodrates Feb. 5. The account is where people can anonymously send photos of food from the campus dining halls and write reviews on.

The person who took the picture is an employee at Roess Dining Hall. Their name will be kept anonymous for the story.

They wrote the picture was taken Jan. 19 in Rivers Street Cafe, also referred to as upper. 

“Honestly after I took the picture I packed up my stuff and left,” the employee wrote. “Ruined my appetite.”

Executive Director of Campus Dining Elizabeth Riede confirmed the presence of mice in the dining hall, writing that two mice have been trapped this semester. 

“One mouse was found in Roess Dining Hall and another in the basement dry storage area,” Riede wrote in an email response.  

Another employee, who’s name is also kept anonymous, said they have not heard of the mice being around for too long. They estimate they have been around for “maybe a couple weeks.”

Riede wrote the university works with Dodson Pest Control for remediation and pest management. 

“Dodson believes that the mice entered the building either through an open dock door during a delivery or through a hole in an exterior wall that has since been patched,” Riede wrote.

There has been no contamination of the food from the mice, Riede wrote. The dining hall follows guidelines from North Carolina and the Food and Drug Administration designed to protect food and food surfaces from pests.

“Some examples of this include storing food covered and sealed when not in service, storing food and food contact surfaces six inches off of the ground or higher, and storing food contact surfaces inverted and/or covered when not in use,” Riede wrote. 

In addition to this, the university also works with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services and the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to “ensure that our food is audited, stored and prepared safely,” Riede wrote. 

Based on the most recent health inspection reports of the dining halls, the following scores were given:

• Sanford Commons in Roess Dining Hall received an A with a score of 93.5 Feb. 14.
• Rivers Street Cafe in Roess Dining Hall received an A with a score of 93.5 Dec. 7.
• Park Place at Trivette Dining Hall received an A with a score of 97.5 Dec. 7.

There is no evidence of pest violations on those inspection forms. 

Editor’s note: A prior version of this story included several statements from social media comments and anonymous sources that were accusatory, and Campus Dining was not given a chance to respond to those statements. The statements have been removed.