Students missing the sliced apples in the South Dining Hall can rest assured because sliced apples will be available again on Wednesday.
"Originally, it was a Richland Hills Product. They've recalled them. That's why you haven't seen them since break," Marc Poklinkowski, general manager of South Dining Hall, said.
Due to the recall, the sliced apples have not been offered in the dining hall since before winter break, Poklinkowski said.
The apples were recalled due to a fear of listeria, Poklinkowski said. He added that the recall was based on Richland Hills' own in-house testing and that no illnesses have been reported due to the apples.
Peterson Farms, one of the largest privately owned fruit processors in Michigan, will be the new supplier for sliced apples in the dining hall, Poklinkowski said.
The new apples will be "very similar" to the ones that the dining hall offered in the past.
Since sliced apples are in high demand in the dining hall, finding replacement apples was necessary.
"We go through almost 2000 pounds [of sliced apples] a week," he said. "It was never our intention to scrap them or anything."
With the absence of the sliced apples, students have been eating more of the other available fruits in the dining hall.
"We've seen a lot more of the other fruits going," Poklinkowski said.
To substitute the sliced apples, some students slice their own apples, but Poklinkowski recognized that the sliced apples are still unique.
"Some cut up their own apples, of course, it's not quite the same," Poklinkowski said. "It's nice that [the sliced apples] stay so nice and white and don't turn brown like the other ones," Poklinkowski said.
