Food Storage and Preparation Deficiencies
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to store and prepare food in a safe and sanitary manner, as evidenced by multiple observations and staff interviews. Dietary staff did not rinse romaine lettuce as instructed on the packaging before chopping and plating it for resident meals. The Dietary Aide stated the lettuce was not rinsed because it was believed to be pre-cleaned, but both the packaging and facility policy required rinsing before use. The Kitchen Manager confirmed this was not in accordance with facility procedures. Additionally, two food transport carts used to move food from the Main Kitchen to the Nourishment Room were found to be dirty, with visible hair, residue, and substances on their surfaces. These carts were present in clean areas of the kitchen and were not cleaned prior to use, contrary to facility policy requiring all food service equipment to be cleaned and sanitized after each use. Multiple food items in the walk-in refrigerator and freezer were observed to be past their use-by dates and had not been discarded as required. The Registered Dietician confirmed these items should have been removed before or on their expiration dates. Further deficiencies included a bin of uncooked rice contaminated with a green leafy substance, which was not discarded, and several food items in both the freezer and dry storage that were left open to the air and not stored in sealed containers. Many opened food items were also not properly labeled with open or use-by dates. These failures were confirmed by staff and were not in compliance with the facility's policies and procedures for food storage, preparation, and handling. The kitchen served a population of 73 residents.