A trip to Umphrey Lee for lunch was more interesting than students bargained for when University Park health inspectors shut down one of the food stations Tuesday afternoon.

The sandwich station was closed for the afternoon after health inspectors determined that the temperatures of the ham and turkey were above the 41 degrees Fahrenheit limit.

Sophomore Emily Ham was standing in line with other students when health inspectors shut down service.

“The server started packing up the stuff because they said the meat wasn’t cold enough. Honestly, I don’t know why they told us while we were standing there,” she said.

Immediate action was taken, according to Director of Auxilary Services Julie Wiksten.

“The deli meats are held in a self-contained container sleeve, so they were easily and quickly removed,” Wiksten said.

The line reopened Tuesday evening in time for dinner.

The violation was found during the bi-annual inspection from University Park health inspectors. Typically there is one inspection per semester, according to Wiksten, along with the occasional summer inspection.

Other problems reported Tuesday included:

– Sneeze guards which divide the food-serving platform between server and students were too high and had to be moved down into their original positions.

-Dented cans were in the incorrect place and needed to be moved away from positions close to the serving lines.

-A refrigeration unit not in use needed to be moved completely out of the kitchen area or clearly marked that it was not allowed to be used for storage.

Demerits were given for each of the problems, and inspectors gave the staff 24 hours to fix the problems marked down.

“We took immediate action to correct the problems that they marked,” said Wiksten.

On Wednesday, inspectors returned to follow-up and were “very pleased with what they saw,” according to Wiksten.

Wiksten wants students to know that SMU Dining is serious about a safe eating environment.

“We take sanitation and these type of things very seriously,” she said.

University Park has copies of inspection reports on Umphrey Lee and all other SMU Dining facilities on its Web site at www.uptexas.org.