See the NYC school cafeterias with the most health code violations

We’d advise against reading this story over lunch.

New York City health inspectors found flies, roaches, signs of mice and other “critical” food safety code violations at 300 public school cafeterias during their most recent inspections, according to a Gothamist analysis of health department inspection data from the last year. That’s about one-fifth of the 1,400 school buildings run by the education department. Private schools have fared worse than their education department counterparts, the data shows. Since 2021, private-school inspections have turned up critical violations at double the rate of public schools.

One or two violations doesn’t necessarily translate into an outbreak of foodborne illness, according to health experts. But a closer look at the data shows that more than 230 schools were repeat offenders and had racked up critical violations over at least two inspections in the last two years. And multiple years’ worth of violations marked “critical” — a designation that includes pests, poor hygiene and potential cross-contamination — increases the risk of food poisoning, according to Donald Schaffner, a professor of food science and chair of the food science department at Rutgers University.

“If the same facility keeps getting dinged for the same thing, that’s a bad sign,” Schaffner said. “The focus should be on the critical violations because those are the ones that drive risk.”

School food hasn’t caused any documented medical issues, the education department said. And students interviewed by Gothamist were overall positive about the safety of their lunches — if not the flavor. Frances Sullender, a sixth-grader at Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Secondary School for Arts and Technology in Long Island City, Queens, bemoaned the quality of many of the menu items. Wagner was cited for signs of mice on its three most recent inspections.

“Mushy green beans, weird corn,” she said scornfully. “And vegan chicken nuggets, which…