Failure to Properly Date and Label Food Items in Unit Kitchenettes
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to store food in accordance with professional standards for food service safety, as evidenced by multiple undated and improperly labeled food items found in two unit kitchenettes. During observations, surveyors identified several food containers and bags in the refrigerators that were either undated or not labeled with the required information, including resident names and dates. Items such as a green bag of food, a plastic container, a container of thickened water, and two 32-ounce containers of nutritionally fortified supplemental drinks were found opened but undated. Additionally, some items were found past the facility's stated discard timeframe, such as a bag dated 6/11/25 that had not been removed. Interviews with the Food Service Director (FSD) and a nurse revealed inconsistencies in the understanding and implementation of the facility's food storage policy. The FSD stated that nurses are responsible for labeling and dating food brought in by families before placing it in the kitchenette refrigerator, and that leftover food should be discarded after three days. However, a nurse indicated that all resident food items and leftovers should be dated and discarded after two days. Both agreed that open supplemental drinks should be dated. The facility's policy requires all perishable foods to be labeled with the resident's name and date and to be discarded after 48 hours, but these procedures were not consistently followed, leading to the deficiency.