Food Temperature and Palatability Deficiency
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that food and drink were palatable, attractive, and served at a safe and appetizing temperature for residents in the Cityview, Skyview, and Harborview units. During the survey, it was observed that food was served at suboptimal temperatures, making it unpalatable. The facility's policy required hot foods to be served at or above 135 degrees Fahrenheit and cold foods at or below 41 degrees Fahrenheit. However, test trays showed that food temperatures were significantly below these standards, with hot foods being served as low as 72 degrees Fahrenheit. Residents expressed dissatisfaction with the food quality, stating that it was often cold, overcooked, or undercooked, and inedible. Several residents reported that their meals were consistently served lukewarm or cold, and staff were unable to reheat the food. The facility's Menu Planning and Food Service Committee had previously documented complaints about cold food, noting that food carts were left at the nurse station before being served. Interviews with staff revealed a lack of awareness regarding the safe temperature range for serving food. The Diet Technician responsible for test trays did not measure food temperatures against specific standards, focusing instead on palatability. The Registered Dietician/Food Service Director acknowledged that hot foods should reach residents at 135-140 degrees Fahrenheit, but the facility failed to meet these expectations, leading to potential food safety issues.
Plan Of Correction
Plan of Correction: Approved March 11, 2025 The registered diet technician will meet with Resident #3, #55, #63, #65, #96, #104, and #203 to address their identified concerns regarding food temperatures, meal times, and preferences. Three test trays per week will be evaluated for temperature and palatability for each meal for three consecutive weeks. Any concerns will be addressed immediately. The facility recognizes that all residents can be potentially affected by this deficient practice. The Administrator or designee will address meal times and food temperatures at each monthly food council meeting. Minutes will be documented. The “individual resident concern” response form will be completed for any resident who wishes to review their meal preferences and dislikes with the Registered Diet Technician or RD. The diet technician will review and update food preferences and dislikes for five residents per week and continue to update preferences upon each resident's scheduled review or change in condition. The facility's policy and procedure titled Food Temperature Policy was reviewed, and no changes were made. The Food Service Director will continue to provide ongoing oversight of the food service department. Broken/uninsulated food carts will be replaced for meal service to ensure holding food temperatures are maintained. All food service staff will be educated on maintaining hot and cold food temperatures under acceptable holding temperatures, including safe food temperatures/handling. Any issues noted if temperature requirements are not met will be immediately corrected. Cook and supervisors’ competencies will be completed on recording, monitoring, and maintaining food temperature. The FSD/RD or designee will review the food temperature logs daily for 30 days, then weekly for three months to assure substantial compliance is met for food safety and palatability. The Diet Technician or designee will evaluate and monitor the temperature of one tray per week for three months. Audit results will be reported to the QAPI committee for review and comment. The need for further reporting will be determined by the QAPI committee. The Administrator/designee will report outcomes from food committee meetings monthly with interventions to the QAPI committee monthly. The need for continued reporting will be determined by the QAPI committee. Responsible Party: Administrator, FSD/RD