Failure to Follow Proper Sanitation and Food Handling During Meal Service
Penalty
Summary
Staff in the facility's kitchen failed to follow proper sanitation and food handling procedures during breakfast meal service. Multiple staff members, including the Food Service Director and several dietary aides, were observed wearing gloves while handling various items such as food, utensils, trays, and food carts, but did not change gloves or perform hand hygiene between tasks. For example, the Food Service Director used the same pair of gloves to touch potentially contaminated surfaces like steam table lids and food cart handles, and then handled ready-to-eat foods and serving utensils without changing gloves or washing hands. Similar practices were observed among dietary aides, who also failed to perform hand hygiene after removing gloves and continued to handle food and clean dishes with potentially contaminated hands or gloves. Interviews with staff confirmed their awareness of the facility's policy requiring handwashing before and after glove use, and the need to change gloves and wash hands after touching non-food items. Despite this knowledge, staff did not adhere to these procedures during the observed meal service. The facility's policy emphasizes the importance of preventing cross-contamination and following safe food handling practices, but these were not followed as observed by surveyors during the breakfast meal service.