Deficient Food Safety and Sanitation Practices Following Kitchen Closure
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to prepare and distribute food in accordance with professional standards of food safety, as evidenced by multiple observations and interviews. The kitchen was closed by the health department due to pest infestation, wastewater backup, and general cleanliness issues, resulting in the suspension of the food service permit and a directive to cease operations immediately. Despite this, staff prepared and served meals by grilling food outside and staging trays in a room without proper handwashing or dishwashing facilities. Food was handled and served in this makeshift area, which lacked basic sanitary provisions such as a handwashing sink, and food items were not consistently covered during distribution. Further deficiencies were observed in food handling practices, including staff transferring ice and glasses to residents without changing gloves or performing hand hygiene after touching potentially contaminated surfaces. Additionally, the dish machine sanitizer was found to be at an inadequate chlorine level of 10 ppm, below the required minimum of 50 ppm, and staff had not consistently tested sanitizer levels. These failures in food safety and sanitation practices had the potential to affect all 51 residents residing in the facility.