Failure to Properly Label and Monitor Food Storage
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure proper labeling, dating, and discarding of food items, as well as monitoring of refrigerator and freezer temperatures, which could potentially affect 138 residents. During an inspection, several food items in the reach-in refrigerator and dry foods/spice pantry were found without open dates, use by dates, or with unreadable labels. For instance, a container of nacho jalapeno peppers had an open date of 02/08/25 and an expiration date of 03/20/2025, but was not discarded as required. Other items, such as giardiniera mild pepper mix and sweet relish, lacked proper labeling, making it difficult to determine their freshness and safety for consumption. Additionally, the facility did not adhere to its policy of monitoring refrigerator and freezer temperatures twice daily. Temperature logs for the reach-in refrigerator, walk-in refrigerator, and walk-in freezer showed no entries for evening temperatures from 04/01/2025 to 04/08/2025, and no morning temperature entries for 04/09/2025. The Dietary Service Director acknowledged that the cooks were only checking temperatures once per day, contrary to the policy that requires three checks per day. This lack of monitoring could compromise the safety and quality of stored food items.