Deficient Food Safety Practices and Incomplete Documentation
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to prepare and serve food in accordance with professional standards for food service safety, as evidenced by incomplete documentation of hot and cold food temperatures, improper use and maintenance of cleaning cloths, and incorrect preparation of sanitizing solution. Observations revealed that food temperatures were not consistently recorded on the weekly menu spreadsheets, with only partial documentation for both first and second shifts. Additionally, sanitizer test strips were not consistently attached or recorded for all days, and the parts per million (PPM) concentration of the sanitizer was not documented for the entire month reviewed. Staff interviews confirmed that food temperatures and sanitizer concentrations were not always properly recorded, and that the cleaning cloth was not kept in the sanitizer bucket between uses as required by policy. Further observations showed that the cook used a cleaning cloth to wipe surfaces without placing it in a sanitizer bucket after each use, and no sanitizer bucket was visible during food preparation. When the sanitizer buckets were checked, neither contained sanitizer at the correct strength, with one bucket containing only water and the other containing soapy water. Staff were unclear about which bucket contained sanitizer, and the test strips did not indicate the presence of sanitizer. The facility's own policies and FDA guidelines require proper preparation and monitoring of sanitizing solutions and consistent documentation of food temperatures, which were not followed in these instances.