Failure to Clean Kitchen Equipment According to FDA Food Code
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed that kitchen equipment, specifically a baking sheet and two skillets, were not properly cleaned. The baking sheet used for preparing honey buns had a black residue along its edge that flaked off easily, while the two skillets had a ring of dark, encrusted residue on both their interior and exterior surfaces that could not be scraped off. The Food Services Manager confirmed that the pans should not have this black, encrusted coating and acknowledged that they should be replaced. These findings indicate that the facility failed to clean food-contact surfaces of cooking equipment in accordance with professional standards and the FDA Food Code, which requires such surfaces to be free of encrustations that could impede proper cooking or attract insects. The deficiency had the potential to affect all 56 residents who consumed food prepared by the facility, as they were exposed to food prepared with inadequately cleaned equipment.