State prison officials' "aggressive and unprecedented monitoring" of Aramark Correctional Services, the vendor serving meals to inmates, reveals that the food service is struggling to meet state standards at seven prisons. The most-recent inspections of Aramark meal service by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction shows that officials generally are satisfied with what is placed before inmates at most of the 26 state-run prisons.

State prison officials� �aggressive and unprecedented monitoring� of Aramark Correctional Services, the vendor serving meals to inmates, reveals that the food service is struggling to meet state standards at seven prisons.

The most-recent inspections of Aramark meal service by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction shows that officials generally are satisfied with what is placed before inmates at most of the 26 state-run prisons.

However, seven institutions received contract compliance scores of less than the acceptable 80 percent standard during reviews in recent months, indicating problems remain, according to state records.

The lowest-rated prison � with a 64 percent score � was Mansfield Correctional Institution, where a state contract monitor complained of a �very dirty� serving area, kitchen and ovens, and a shortage of Aramark employees.

Close behind was the Ohio Reformatory for Women at Marysville with a 66 percent score. Aramark was �constantly running out of food and inappropriately substituting some meals.� Again, there were complaints of staffing problems.

Other prisons not making the compliance cut were Allen (70 percent), Madison and London (75 percent), Noble (78 percent) and Lebanon (79 percent). Aramark has to submit plans to correct problems at prisons that don�t meet standards.

Mice made a couple of appearances. Their feces were found on food racks at Madison Correctional Institution, and a mouse scampered across the floor in front of an inspector in a storage area at Pickaway Correctional Institution.

There was one repeat report of maggots, which have been discovered in meal and kitchen areas at a few institutions, notably the Marysville prison. Maggots surfaced on Aug. 14 in some unserved potatoes at the Noble prison. Aramark and the prison system have jointly shared responsibility for the presence of the fly larvae.

The state has fined Aramark $272,300 for a variety of violations since it took over food-service operations from unionized prison employees last fall under a two-year $110 million contract that promised to save the state millions.

Inmates have complained of poor food quality and quantity as the state demands that Aramark hire more employees and resolve food problems.

�Issues in food service did occur before the Aramark contract, but we now have an aggressive and unprecedented monitoring system in place that did not exist before� to improve the company�s performance, said prisons spokeswoman JoEllen Smith.

Karen Cutler, a spokeswoman for Philadelphia-based Aramark, said it continues to work with prison officials to �resolve operational issues at a few facilities.� Issues involving pest control, trash removal, kitchen equipment and infrastructure matters are the prison system�s responsibility, she said.

rludlow@dispatch.com

@RandyLudlow