Failure to Serve Meals at Safe and Appetizing Temperatures
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to serve lunch meals at the required safe and appetizing temperature to all 10 residents on the eighth floor nursing unit. During observation, dietary staff measured food temperatures on the steam table and found that several items, including chuckwagon beef stroganoff, noodles, buttered cabbage, and hamburgers, were below the facility's minimum required serving temperature of 125 degrees Fahrenheit, with some items as low as 90 degrees. Despite these findings, the dietary staff proceeded to serve the food without reheating it to the appropriate temperature. The facility's policy requires hot foods to be held at a minimum of 135 degrees during tray assembly and not served below 125 degrees, but this protocol was not followed during the observed meal service.