Improper Food Storage, Labeling, and Sealing in Kitchen
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed multiple failures in the facility's kitchen regarding the storage, labeling, and sealing of food items. During a kitchen tour, thick layers of ice and ice crystals were found on food racks and boxes in the walk-in freezer, with the ceiling also showing ice buildup. Several food items, including jam, blueberries, dinner bread, carrots, tater tots, and chicken patties, were found opened, not sealed properly, and lacking date labels. In the walk-in refrigerator, opened and plastic-wrapped stacks of cheese, salad dressings, broccoli, mayonnaise, ranch dressing, and milk were also found either past their use-by dates, opened and undated, or not sealed correctly. Additionally, a box of diced potatoes with visible freezer burn was found in the freezer, and the kitchen manager acknowledged that food should be labeled and sealed after opening. Staff interviews revealed that dates were sometimes not written on opened packages if they were expected to be used the same day. The kitchen manager also confirmed that the freezer door may not always be closed properly, leading to thawing and refreezing of foods near the door. These observations and staff statements indicate that the facility did not consistently follow its own policies or the Idaho Food Code requirements for labeling, dating, and properly storing food items.