Failure to Properly Store and Label Food and Maintain Pantry Sanitation
Penalty
Summary
Staff failed to properly store and label food and drink items in the pantry located at the nurse's station. Observations revealed an opened and undated packet of thickened tea, two single-serve bowls of dried cereal without dates or labels, a plastic mug with condensation and no label or date, an opened and partially full water bottle with no date, an opened can of energy drink with no date, and an uncovered travel mug half-full of liquid with no date. These items were not stored in accordance with professional standards or the facility's own policy, which requires food not in its original container to be labeled and dated. Additionally, the pantry floor was not maintained in a sanitary manner. Behind the trash can, there was an empty single-serve cranberry juice container, two balled up paper towels, and a sticky dried red substance on the floor. These unsanitary conditions were confirmed by both a CNA and the Administrator during interviews. The facility's policy states that food storage areas should be clean, but observations showed the floor had not been cleaned between surveyor visits.