Failure to Maintain Kitchen Sanitation and Hand Hygiene During Food Preparation
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed that the facility failed to maintain proper sanitation and food safety standards in the kitchen. During a kitchen tour, five large cooking pans were found with brownish to blackish discolorations and rusty spots. Both the dietary manager and the registered dietitian acknowledged the unsanitary condition of these pans, confirming that such equipment should not be kept or used in the kitchen. Additionally, during tray line preparation, a dietary aide was seen leaving the kitchen while still wearing gloves, then returning and continuing to assist with meal trays without removing the used gloves, washing hands, or donning new gloves. The dietary aide, dietary manager, and registered dietitian all confirmed that proper hand hygiene and glove use were not followed as required by facility policy. These lapses in sanitation and hand hygiene had the potential to affect all 55 residents receiving food from the kitchen.