Failure to Properly Label and Date Food Items in Kitchen
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that food items in the kitchen were properly labeled and dated, as required by facility policy and professional standards. During observations, surveyors found several food items in the walk-in refrigerator and reach-in cooler that were either missing use by dates, opened dates, or any labeling at all. Specifically, a sliced ham was only labeled with the date it was sliced, a large container of grape jelly had no label or date, an opened bag of shredded mozzarella cheese was only labeled with a delivery date, and a container of sour cream was missing both an opened date and a use by date. The Food Service Director confirmed that all items should be labeled with delivery, opened, and use by dates, and acknowledged that the lack of labeling made it impossible to determine how long items had been open or if they were still safe to use. Interviews with the Food Service Director and Registered Dietitian emphasized the importance of labeling and dating food items to prevent serving spoiled or expired food to residents. The facility's own policies require all food items to be labeled with the name of the food and the date by which it should be consumed or discarded, as well as the date opened and appropriate use-by date for items removed from original containers. The failure to follow these procedures was observed to have the potential to affect all 130 residents receiving food from the facility's kitchen, including 26 residents with NPO (nothing by mouth) orders.