Failure to Prevent Cross-Contamination in Food Handling and Equipment
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to handle food in a manner that prevents cross-contamination and did not maintain food preparation equipment to prevent contamination. During lunch service, a cook used gloved hands to handle multiple food items, including lemon wedges, peas, french fries, and fish, without changing gloves between tasks. The cook also touched her clothing, door handles, and food carts with the same gloves and did not change them during the entire lunch service. No utensils were provided for handling lemon wedges, and the cook used her gloved hand to place them on plates for all residents. Additionally, the facility's can opener was observed to have caked-on debris on the sharp cutting tip on two consecutive days. The dietary supervisor confirmed that the can opener had been used and cleaned, but acknowledged that the tip remained dirty and posed a risk of cross-contamination. The supervisor also stated that food should not be touched with potentially contaminated gloved hands and that utensils should be used for items like lemon wedges. The facility's policy requires all food service equipment and utensils to be sanitized according to guidelines and mandates safe food handling practices.