Failure to Maintain Food Safety Standards and Hand Hygiene During Meal Service
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to store and distribute food in accordance with professional standards for food service safety, as observed during a kitchen inspection. Multiple food items in the reach-in freezer, including peas, broccoli, cookie dough, pancakes, meat patties, and hashbrowns, were found open to air, undated, and unlabeled. Additionally, the kitchen floor under the stove and around the base of the walls had a buildup of dust and debris, ceiling vents and panels above food preparation areas were dusty, and the top of the dishwasher contained dust, debris, and food crumbs. The Dietary Manager confirmed that frozen food should be labeled, dated, and sealed, and that routine cleaning was not documented in a cleaning log, despite a recent deep clean. During meal service, a staff member was observed touching a resident's hair, another resident's shoulder, and then a third resident's cup without performing hand hygiene between contacts. Facility policy requires staff to perform hand hygiene after touching residents and after delivering each tray of food, but this was not followed. The facility's own policies on food storage, cleaning, and hand washing were not adhered to during these observed events.