Deficiencies in Food Storage, Labeling, and Hand Hygiene During Food Preparation
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors identified multiple deficiencies related to food safety and sanitation practices within the facility. During observations, expired food items such as thickened hot cocoa mix, honey thickener, chicken noodle soup, grape jelly, prune juice, and yogurt were found in various storage areas and refrigerators. Opened and undated food items, including chicken strips, breadcrumbs, pudding, pizza, chicken wings, apple sauce, and tomatoes, were also present. Staff food was stored alongside residents' food in unit refrigerators, and some items brought in by family members were not labeled or dated as required. Additionally, refrigerators were found to be unclean, with dried spills and sticky substances, and cleaning logs indicated that cleaning had not been performed for several days. During food preparation, staff failed to perform proper hand hygiene between glove changes. Specifically, a cook did not wash hands before donning new gloves after handling raw ingredients and after removing gloves, as confirmed by the Registered Dietitian. Interviews with the Dietary Manager and Registered Dietitian revealed there was no established system for labeling food brought in by families or for discarding old resident food. These deficiencies had the potential to affect all 52 residents who consumed food prepared in the facility's kitchen.