Labeling & Quality Assurance

In our dining halls and cafeterias, we primarily use fresh ingredients and take great care to ensure that there are as few additives as possible—and ideally none at all—in cases where we must rely on pre-packaged products.

In addition to additives subject to labeling requirements and allergenic ingredients, we also voluntarily provide further information to give you the best possible overview for your dietary habits or in relation to any important personal restrictions you may have.

You can find the complete overview here: “Labeling Overview for Cafeterias & Cafés”

The numbers and images shown there can also be found in our menus, on display cases, boards, stands, etc. Additionally, if you have any uncertainties or questions, our staff at the facilities are always happy to assist you with advice and support.

Important Note:

The labeling and preparation of the food and beverage offerings in our facilities are always carried out with the utmost care. The information regarding ingredients is based on the details we receive from manufacturers and suppliers. Due to the wide variety of products, cross-contamination may occur, and products may contain traces of ingredients not listed.

Cross-contamination cannot be completely ruled out even in our own production processes. We therefore cannot exclude the possibility that the food and beverages we offer may contain other ingredients subject to labeling requirements, or traces thereof, in addition to those listed.

In particular, guests who could suffer serious health complications due to allergenic ingredients should, if in doubt, consult the responsible kitchen or cafeteria manager before consuming our food offerings. We appreciate your understanding!

All guests have the opportunity to provide feedback and comments—including any critical remarks regarding our services and offerings—using the feedback forms available at our facilities or by emailing ganz.ehrlich@swcz.de. We review and analyze this feedback, respond to it, and, where necessary, implement measures to improve our services.

Food safety is governed by a wide range of regulations and laws that are binding on all businesses in the food industry. The most important regulations include:

• Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002 on the general principles and requirements of food law
  . This regulation establishes the fundamental safety requirements that must be observed throughout the entire food production process.

• Food Hygiene Regulation (LMHV)
  It specifies the hygiene requirements that must be met in all areas of food processing and food storage.

• Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 on the provision of food
  information to consumers This regulation ensures that you, as a consumer, know exactly what is contained in food—from ingredients to allergens to additives.

These legal provisions serve not only to protect your health but also to ensure the quality of the food offered to you in our facilities.

The responsibility for food safety rests with us. To ensure that all legal requirements are met, we are required to conduct our own inspections in our university dining facilities. These include:

• an internal HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points)
  program—a globally recognized system that identifies all potential hazards in food production and establishes control points to detect and subsequently minimize these hazards.

• Regular hygiene inspections
  We continuously monitor cleanliness and the implementation of hygiene standards in all areas of our dining halls and cafeterias, including goods receiving, storage, production/processing, and sales. In addition to product hygiene, staff hygiene plays a crucial role. We conduct spot checks to ensure compliance, such as by taking swab samples from our employees’ hands.

• Documentation and traceability
  All inspections and measures carried out are documented so that, in the event of a complaint, rapid traceability is possible.

In addition to our internal quality control measures, we work closely with an independent laboratory. This laboratory conducts microbiological tests once a year at each of our university dining facilities. These external tests are an important part of food safety and include:

• Food samples
  As part of the microbiological tests, compliance with the guideline and warning values set by the German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology (DGHM) is verified for various parameters across a wide range of foods.

• Dishwasher
  samples: Both the so-called “rinse water” in the machine and the cleaned dishes are subjected to microbiological testing.

• Drinking water samples
  : Microbiological tests are conducted to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Drinking Water Ordinance.

In addition, we are subject to unannounced inspections by the Food Safety and Veterinary Office of the City of Chemnitz or the District of Zwickau, which audits our dining halls and cafeterias with a comprehensive focus on food safety.

Hygiene is essential in food production and processing. To ensure the safety of our products, it is imperative that all areas involved in production, storage, and sales are regularly cleaned and disinfected. This includes:

• Cleaning and disinfection plans for personnel, product, and environmental hygiene
  We have developed detailed plans for daily cleaning and disinfection to prevent food contamination with pathogenic germs, contaminants, or similar substances.

• Use of certified cleaning agents
  We use only cleaning and disinfecting agents that are approved for the food industry and leave no residues that could compromise food safety.

In the event of complaints or recalls, it is important that we can verify the condition and quality of the food we offer at any time—even after the fact. For this reason, we take retention samples daily, which are stored under secure conditions (frozen). These samples are important because:

• they can
  still be examined for a defined period after sale In the event of quality issues or suspected contamination, these retention samples can be quickly tested and examined.

• a legally mandated retention period must
  be observed Retention samples must be stored for a specific period to allow for any necessary testing.

Thanks to these retention samples, a rapid and precise analysis can be conducted by a microbiological laboratory if necessary.

In accordance with legal requirements and whenever changes or adjustments are made to our hygiene-related operational procedures, our teams receive appropriate training. These training sessions also address any shortcomings or deficiencies that may have been identified—even if they occur only occasionally—and that have come to light during internal and external inspections, thereby helping to prevent them in the future.

We source approximately 85% of our food purchases through tenders organized by a purchasing cooperative of East German student services (excluding Berlin). This allows us to exert a relatively significant influence on the quality of the food we procure without facing major economic and/or organizational challenges.

Incoming goods are also inspected according to previously established criteria for rejection, and in the event of deficiencies, these are documented, reported, and substandard goods are largely avoided or excluded.

The quality criteria jointly defined in the tenders also help to better tap into sourcing opportunities for organically or regionally produced products, thereby enabling us to specifically influence the market and its development.

In the areas of warehousing, processing, and production, our internal HACCP concept helps ensure that all hygiene requirements are clearly regulated, implemented, and monitored. This is complemented by cold storage monitoring, Cook & Chill or Cook & Freeze methods in food preparation, and similar measures. All of this contributes to the safety of our offerings, so you can feast and enjoy your meals in our dining halls and cafeterias with a clear conscience at any time!