Failure to Maintain Food Safety and Sanitation Standards
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors identified multiple deficiencies in the facility's food service operations during a kitchen and dining area inspection. Expired food items, including two half gallons of milk past their expiration date and a soup bowl of tuna salad, as well as trays and containers of cranberry jelly/sauce with outdated or missing dates, were found in storage areas. Open bags of non-dairy topping and shredded cheese were also undated, and a bag of frozen egg patties was left open and undated in the freezer. The Director of Food Services was unaware of the expired milk and confirmed that these items were intended for resident use. Further observations revealed unsanitary conditions in the dining area, including a steam table with crusted food on the sneeze guard, food crumbs, dirty plates, and discolored water with floating food particles in chafing dishes. An ant was observed crawling in and out of a chafing dish. The Director of Food Services acknowledged that the water in the chafing dishes had not been changed for several days and that the steam table and side table were not cleaned with sanitizing spray, but rather with a scouring powder. Subsequent inspections confirmed that cleaning and sanitizing procedures were not consistently followed, and the facility's food policy requiring proper labeling, dating, and timely disposal of prepared foods, as well as maintenance of sanitary conditions, was not adhered to.