Deficiency in Food Palatability, Appearance, and Temperature
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed that the facility failed to ensure food items were attractive, palatable, and served at an appetizing temperature. During observation of the dietary tray line, waffles were noted to be pale, floppy, and appeared uncooked, as the kitchen's toaster could not accommodate frozen items and thus did not brown the waffles. The Dietary Manager acknowledged these issues and was unable to achieve a higher serving temperature for the waffles, which were measured at 100°F, below the facility's policy requirement of 135°F for hot foods. Residents had previously voiced concerns about food being over or undercooked, with no changes made in response to their feedback. Further observations included a test tray where the main entrée of ham was pale and lacked browning, though it was at an appropriate temperature and tasted acceptable. The sweet potatoes were lumpy and left a lingering spicy aftertaste, while the green peas were soft but visually basic. The fruit, identified as canned pears, had a translucent appearance with accentuated dots and inconsistent texture, ranging from very soft to hard, making it difficult to chew for some residents. The Dietary Manager agreed that the pears' texture could be problematic and attributed the appearance to being packed in water. The facility's policy requires food to be served attractively and at palatable temperatures, which was not consistently met.