Failure to Store and Label Food According to Professional Standards
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed that the facility failed to store food in accordance with professional standards for food service safety. During observation rounds with a dietary aide, sealed bins of white flour, white rice, brown rice, and sugar were found in the kitchen's dry goods storage room with expired use-by dates clearly labeled on them. Specifically, the white flour, white rice, brown rice, and sugar all had use-by dates that had already passed. Additionally, in the kitchen's freezer, an opened bag of frozen pepperoni was found without any labeling to indicate when it was opened or when it would expire. Interviews with the Dietary Director and Regional Food Service Director confirmed the presence of expired dry goods and the unlabeled opened frozen pepperoni. The facility's Food Storage Chart policy was reviewed and states that expiration dates printed by the manufacturer apply until the food product is opened, after which specific timeframes for safe use are outlined. The policy also requires that opened food items be labeled with the date they were opened to determine expiration, which was not followed in the case of the pepperoni.