Despite a few violations and a constantly changing health-code system, the Student Union Memorial Center and Park Student Union have received high ratings in health inspections, according to the Pima County Health Department.

In the past two years of random health inspections by the Pima County Health Department, a majority of restaurants in the SUMC and PSU have maintained “”good”” or “”excellent”” ratings, Pima County Health Department reports state.

“”The health department finds the University of Arizona asone of the better places to eat in Pima County,”” said David Galbraith, director of food services and associate director of the Student Union Memorial Center.

Among the restaurants in both the SUMC and PSU, McDonald’s, On Deck Deli and both locations of Panda Express received “”excellent”” ratings from the health department in their past two random inspections, according to the Pima County Health Department.

“”The minimum expectation required from all restaurants is that a restaurant gets a ‘good’ rating,”” Galbraith said.

Restaurants that receive a “”good”” rating receive them because of violations seen at the time of inspection, such as improper hand washing.

Some of the restaurants that received a “”good”” rating in the past year were Cactus Grill, Redington Restaurant and 3 Cheeses and a Noodle.

A majority of the violations that occur at the SUMC and PSU have varied from employees’ hands and exposed arms not being clean and properly washed to potentially hazardous foods kept at improper cooling temperatures to items not in compliance with current health codes, according to the Pima County Health Department.

However, violations may occur when the health department makes abrupt, unclear changes in its regulations, Galbraith said. In this case, the restaurant will be written up, and the inspector will inform employees about the new health codes.

Students who eat in the SUMC and PSU are aware of the food quality but just want what they came for: food.

“”We just want good, cooked food,”” said Galen Williams, a business junior. “”We’re hungry, man.””

But Lisa Pratt, a family studies and human development sophomore, said knowing how the food is prepared is important.

“”I don’t want dirty stuff in my food,”” Pratt said.

Another aspect that helps the union restaurants do well in health inspections is the newer facilities. The SUMC was completed about four years ago, and PSU was renovated about three years ago.

“”We are pretty lucky in that we have a new facility,”” Galbriath said. “”Most of the systems are up to specs, and we spend a lot of money to keep everything up to date.””

The UA also invested in a new program implemented two years ago that allows managers to be certified in Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points, Galbraith said.

HACCP was created in 2001 by the Food and Drug Administration and requires more reliable food handling and storage methods to keep harmful pathogens, such as salmonella and E.coli, out of temperature sensitive foods.

“”It keeps people aware of good practices, and it’s good tracking to see where problems in terms of food quality arise,”” Galbraith said.