Deficiency in Food Storage and Temperature Control
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that food was stored, prepared, distributed, and served in accordance with professional standards for food service safety. During a kitchen inspection, it was observed that several food items in the walk-in refrigerator and freezer were not properly labeled and dated. Additionally, multiple frozen food packages had ice and frost buildup inside, indicating improper sealing. The dry storage area contained a plastic container and milk crates that were dirty, and a plastic tub of beef soup base was observed with black dust on the lid. The Food Service Director acknowledged that the cooks were responsible for labeling and dating food and ensuring packages were sealed to prevent freezer burn. Cold food items, including yogurt, milk, chicken salad sandwiches, and egg salad, were found to be stored at temperatures above the required 41 degrees Fahrenheit. The facility's policy required daily recording of food temperatures to ensure compliance with food safety standards, but the Cook's Temperature Log Sheet did not show evidence of monitoring cold food temperatures. Interviews revealed that staff did not routinely measure the temperature of cold food items such as sandwiches, milk, and yogurt, and the cooler used to keep cold items was broken and not replaced. The Administrator was unaware that the kitchen was not following the food storage and temperature procedures. The Food Service Director admitted that they did not routinely measure the temperature of cold food items served to residents. The failure to maintain proper food storage and temperature standards was a violation of the facility's policies and procedures, as well as state regulations.
Plan Of Correction
Plan of Correction: Approved March 3, 2025 Pine (NAME) Center For Rehabilitation and Healthcare provides the Following Plan of Correction 1. Address how corrective action will be accomplished for those residents found to have been affected by the deficient practice F812. The Food Service Director ensured that all improperly labeled and dated food items were discarded immediately. The Food Service Director gave in-services to the cooks on 2/4/2025 on properly labeling and dating food items. The Food Service Director cleaned the edge of the lid immediately upon recognition. 2. Address how the facility will identify other residents having the potential to be affected by the same deficient practice. All residents have the potential to be affected by this alleged deficient practice. The Food Service Director did a kitchen-wide tour on 2/03/2025 to ensure that the facility is in compliance with food storage procedures. All negative findings were immediately corrected. 3. Address what measures will be put into place or systemic changes made to ensure that the deficient practice will not recur. The Administrator and Food Service Director reviewed the policy on Food Storage. No changes were made. They also reviewed the policy on Cleaning and Sanitation of Dining and Food Service Areas and the policy on Food Temperatures, and no changes were made. Kitchen staff were in-serviced on 2/04/2024 on the policies with specific focus on proper labeling of food packages, disposing of freezer-burned food, and on the cleanliness of the food storage areas. They were also in-serviced on Cold Food temperatures, with specific focus on keeping all cold food items on ice during preparation to adhere to the regulations. 4. Indicate how the facility plans to monitor its performance to make sure that solutions are sustained. The facility has implemented tray line temperature audits to ensure the facility is in cold food temperature compliance. Audits will be done weekly for the first 4 weeks and then monthly for the following 5 months. The facility has implemented audits on proper labeling/dating as well as cleanliness to ensure staff are adhering to state and federal regulations and will be done weekly for the first 4 weeks and then monthly for the following 5 months following. Audits will be discussed at the QA meeting to monitor for compliance. 5. The date for correction and the title of the person responsible for correction of each deficiency. The Administrator will be responsible for implementation and compliance by 03/10/2025.