Widespread Food Service Sanitation and Storage Deficiencies
Penalty
Summary
Multiple deficiencies were identified in the facility's food service operations, including failures in staff hygiene, food labeling, and storage practices. Observations revealed that dietary staff did not consistently wear appropriate hair or facial hair restraints while preparing food, with some staff having unrestrained hair and mustaches or beards without proper coverings. Additionally, food items stored in refrigerators and freezers were found without required labels indicating contents or dates of storage, and shelving in the kitchen was observed to be covered with a gray, dusty, and sticky substance, indicating inadequate cleaning. Further deficiencies were noted in hand hygiene and utensil handling. Staff were observed retrieving items from food with ungloved hands and failing to perform hand hygiene after handling trash before distributing clean plates. Utensils used for serving food were placed directly on top of food items after being touched with ungloved hands, contrary to sanitary guidelines. Chemicals, such as a sanitizing solution, were also found stored next to food items on serving tables, and staff did not recognize the potential hazard of this practice. The facility also failed to follow manufacturer guidelines for the storage and use of nutritional supplements. Opened cartons of Med Plus 2.0 nutritional supplement were left unrefrigerated on medication carts without being labeled with the date and time of opening, and were available for resident consumption beyond the recommended four-hour window. Staff interviewed were unaware of the storage requirements for these supplements, and the administrator confirmed the observations as deficiencies.