Failure to Properly Store and Discard Food Items
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed that the facility failed to store, prepare, distribute, and serve food in accordance with professional standards for food service safety. Specifically, during inspection of the kitchen's refrigerator, three 1-gallon containers of milk were found with use by dates that had already passed. In the dry storage area, several large cans of food, including spaghetti sauce, mushrooms, pumpkin, and apple jelly, were found to be dented and not separated from other food items as required. Interviews with the Dietary Manager and another kitchen staff member confirmed that it was the kitchen staff's responsibility to inspect, label, and properly store food items upon delivery. Both staff members acknowledged that dented cans should be stored separately and returned to the vendor, and that expired milk should be discarded. However, the observed practices did not align with these procedures, as dented cans were found in regular storage and expired milk was present in the refrigerator.