Failure to Prevent Bare Hand Contact with Ready-to-Eat Foods
Penalty
Summary
Facility staff failed to follow professional food safety standards by using bare hands to handle ready-to-eat food items during meal service. Specifically, during observation of a noon meal, a culinary lead was seen picking up cheese and meat/cheese sandwiches with bare hands, cutting them, and placing them on serving plates without using gloves or utensils. This practice was confirmed by the Dietary Manager as not compliant with required food safety protocols, which mandate minimizing bare hand contact with exposed food. The deficiency had the potential to affect all residents who consumed meals prepared in the kitchen, with a reported census of 98 residents at the time of the survey. The report references the 2016 Food Code, which requires the use of suitable utensils or single-use gloves to prevent contamination from hands, and documents that these standards were not followed during the observed meal service.