Failure to Maintain Safe Food Storage and Dish Sanitization Practices
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to maintain proper food safety and storage practices, as evidenced by multiple observations and staff interviews. The resident snack refrigerator was repeatedly found to be operating above the required temperature, with recorded readings of 50°F and 48°F on several days, despite the facility's policy requiring temperatures to remain at or below 41°F. The refrigerator contained unlabeled and open food items, including pudding cups, a take-out container, pitchers of juice, and an open gallon of milk, all of which felt warm to the touch. Staff interviews confirmed that items were left open and unlabeled, and that temperature monitoring was inconsistent, with several days missing temperature logs. Nursing and dietary staff were not consistently aware of the temperature issues or the need to remove items or notify maintenance when temperatures were out of range. In the main kitchen, expired milk was found in the refrigerator, with a best-by date that had already passed. The cook acknowledged that expired items should be removed during routine checks but admitted that the expired milk had been missed. This indicates a lapse in the facility's process for monitoring and removing expired food items from storage areas. Additionally, the facility's high-temperature sanitization dishwasher was observed to be functioning improperly, with rinse temperatures consistently below the required 180°F, despite the wash temperature being adequate. Staff were aware of the issue with the temperature gauge but did not consistently report the problem to supervisors or maintenance. The Environmental Service Director and other staff confirmed that the machine had ongoing issues, and that procedures for verifying and documenting corrective actions were not always followed. The facility's policy required staff to notify supervisors and document corrective actions when temperatures were not adequate, but this was not consistently done.