Mold discovered in New Midway Elementary kitchen; refrigerator will be cleaned

Aug. 26—After mold was found in a refrigerator in New Midway Elementary's kitchen, all meals for students will be prepared at Walkersville High School next week.

Mold spots were found on the walls inside the walk-in refrigerator, Frederick County Public Schools spokeswoman Wanda Ford wrote in an email on Friday.

There was little food stored in the refrigerator, and no mold was observed on the food, Ford wrote. Still, Food and Nutrition Services disposed of the food "out of an abundance of caution."

No other mold was discovered in the building, she wrote.

The mold was likely from warm air filtering into the refrigerator through a faulty door gasket, Ford wrote. When the air entered the cooled space, condensation caused moisture to form inside the refrigerator, she wrote.

The FCPS manager of environmental compliance and occupational health inspected the refrigerator, and the school system contacted a professional remediation company to clean and sanitize the unit, Ford wrote.

The maintenance department is replacing the faulty door gasket to prevent mold from forming in the refrigerator in the future, she wrote.

Normal kitchen operations should resume at New Midway next week, after the cleaning is finished and the gasket is installed, according to Ford's email.

The school system informed parents of New Midway students of the mold in an email on Wednesday. No employees or students ate the food stored inside the refrigerator, according to the email, which was signed by FCPS food nutrition services director Robert Kelly.

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