'Falsifying temps': Palo Alto VA fires veteran who captured hospital allegedly storing food unsafely
PALO ALTO, Calif. (KGO) -- A veteran and well-known Bay Area restaurateur says he was fired as a volunteer at the Palo Alto VA Hospital after documenting food that was allegedly being unsafely stored and served to patients. And while the VA denies the allegations, the hospital refuses to provide a copy of the inspection report it claims it passed six months before the allegations surfaced.
"They don't care! They don't care," said Dennis Berkowitz. "It's below health standards for anyone... especially for patients who are already vulnerable."
In the Bay Area food scene, everyone knows Dennis Berkowitz. He's most notably the founder of the legacy Max's franchise. His 70-year culinary career includes opening hundreds of restaurants across the country, including catering for the Department of Defense and the Hotel Corporation of America. Berkowitz was also the top boss of food and beverage for the Fairmont Hotel franchise in the 1960s and Hyatt hotels in the 1970s -- when prices for a gentleman's cut roast beef was only $7.50.
The point is: Berkowitz knows his way around a kitchen. And says he holds food quality and safety to the highest standards.
Which is why it was unusual for a veteran of the business -- and a veteran of the Army -- to be fired from the Palo Alto VA Hospital as an unpaid kitchen volunteer. Here's what he says happened.
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"I took a look at what they were doing, and I was very upset." Berkowitz said.
The 85-year-old former Army Second Lieutenant says he witnessed food being stored at unsafe temperatures and that staff allegedly falsified those records from November through January last year. He says photos he took show a few examples, like chili being stored at 95 degrees one day, 80 degrees another, and 75 degrees the next - that's 65 degrees below the minimum requirement for storing hot food, according to the Centers for Disease Control. It's supposed to be at least 140 degrees to prevent bacteria.
"That's the perfect incubation for E. coli..." Berkowitz said.
Dr. Michael Stanton is a Cal State East Bay assistant professor of Public Health. He says anywhere between 40 and roughly 140 degrees Fahrenheit is considered "the danger zone" -- a breeding ground for bacteria.
"There are a number of bacteria that could multiply at that temperature, for example salmonella, listeria, E coli," said Dr. Stanton. "We know that in between those two temperatures, bacteria have a tendency to grow and multiply - sometimes doubling every 20 minutes."
"(It's) certainly problematic and could lead to serious diseases," he said, adding especially if the food is stored that way for several hours.
Berkowitz says another example is the nacho cheese. Instead of 140 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, pictures appear to show it being stored at 92 degrees one day - then below 80 degrees another. And what he says is even worse, the burgers were being stored at 121 degrees during one shift - down to 112 the next. According to VA lunch standards, the maximum holding time for burgers is 30 minutes.
"This would hold for five hours at this temperature," Berkowitz explained. "If they had leftovers, they would serve them the next day."
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According to Berkowitz, the other problem?
"They were falsifying the records."
The Army vet also took pictures of the sheet where cooks document the temperatures of food being stored. According to VA guidelines, it's supposed to be done every two hours for hot and cold food.
"There was a book in the main kitchen that hadn't been filled out since September -- all the numbers are exactly the same. It's impossible to have something 165 five hours later... 165," Berkowitz said.
He says he couldn't even find a thermometer in the VA kitchen, so he brought one in from his own. According to the complaint he says he filed with the VA, Berkowitz alleges management did not address the issues upon being notified.
"They didn't care," he said. "In fact ... (management) said, 'You're not allowed to take pictures. If it were up to me... you'd never would have got this job.'"
And in another instance, Berkowitz says the contents of a soup being served were misrepresented.
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"What kind of soup is this?' Berkowitz says he asked VA kitchen staff. "I was told, 'vegetarian'...but there was ham scraps!"
Berkowitz said he was told to tell customers, "It's chicken soup...quote... unquote."
Dr. Stanton is familiar with the Palo Alto VA because he did his residency and postdoctoral fellowship at the hospital for four years. While he never witnessed these problems during his time there, he does share this concern: the vulnerable population that could be more susceptible to food poisoning.
"You're talking about a lot of people with chronic illnesses; that's a common person visiting our clinics at the VA," Dr. Stanton said.
7 On Your Side reached out to the Palo Alto VA for further comment on these allegations and the images that were shared. We received the following statement, saying the "VA initiated an investigation in January 2025 to examine Mr. Berkowitz's allegations. After a thorough review, which included interviews with Veterans Canteen Service (VCS) staff and Mr. Berkowitz, the allegations were unsubstantiated."
The VA contracts with EcoSure, a third-party auditing company, to conduct inspections. The hospital told 7 On Your Side the Palo Alto VA's restaurant facility, known as VCS, passed its latest unannounced inspection in May of 2024 with no findings of unsafe or hazardous conditions. But that inspection was six months before Mr. Berkowitz even started as a volunteer.
7 On Your Side asked if any follow-up inspections had taken place since then, but the VA didn't answer. The agency was also not willing to provide a copy of the inspection report it claims it passed last May. So we then asked: when did these inspections start, and how often do they occur? The VA didn't answer that either.
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7 On Your Side filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to find out.
Which brings us back to Berkowitz.
"Why do you think you were let go?" asked 7 On Your Side's Stephanie Sierra.
"Because I stirred up too much s***, that's why - because I held them to a quality standard that they didn't like," Berkowitz said.
The veteran chef himself wrote a list of the customers who would greet him in the food line everyday. He says all he wants for them is a safe experience.
Plus...
"I want my job back!" he said. "Let's see if they give it to me..."
Take a look at more stories and videos by 7 On Your Side.
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