Failure to Prepare Pureed Foods to Required Consistency and Recipe Standards
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to prepare pureed foods according to required consistency and recipe standards for residents on pureed diets during a lunch meal. Dietary staff prepared pureed bread and spinach by adding chicken broth and thickener without using measuring devices, relying instead on visual assessment of consistency. Recipes for the pureed items were not present during preparation, and the staff did not follow the specified measurements outlined in the corporate recipe for pureed bread. Observations showed that the pureed macaroni and cheese and bread were not at the required pudding or mashed potato consistency, instead being thick, sticky, and difficult to move in the mouth. During testing, both the Dietary Manager and the Administrator noted that the pureed items were too thick and could be difficult for residents to swallow or remove from the roof of their mouths. Record review confirmed that the facility's policy required residents to receive diets as ordered by their physicians, including pureed diets, but the policy or protocol for pureeing food was not provided at the time of the survey. This failure to follow proper preparation methods and recipes for pureed foods was observed for one meal and could affect residents requiring pureed diets.