Ohio inmates dump lunch in protest after maggots found on food line

8/6/2014
REUTERS

CLEVELAND — A thousand inmates at an Ohio women's prison dumped their lunch trays in protest after word spread that maggots had been found on a serving line, a prisons spokeswoman said today.

Inmates at the prison in Marysville northwest of Columbus staged the protest after finding the maggots and notifying staff, dumping their food into trash bins, spokeswoman JoEllen Smith said.

It was the second complaint about maggots at the prison, which houses about 2,500 women, and one of several incidents around Ohio prisons reported over the last year.

Maggots were also found on Tuesday near a serving line at the Trumbull Correctional Institute near Warren. No prisoners were served contaminated food in either incident, Smith said.

Ohio in 2013 awarded a two-year contract to Aramark Correctional Services to provide food for state prisons. Ohio has fined Aramark twice in 2014 for various reasons.

“It is our understanding that the latest alleged incident occurred during a pre-meal service inspection and had no connection to food service,” Aramark spokeswoman Karen Cutler said.