Failure to Discard Expired Milk and Label Opened Food Items
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed that the facility failed to discard milk stored past its use by date in the reach-in cooler and did not label or date several opened food items in the walk-in cooler. Specifically, a partially consumed gallon of whole milk with a use by date that had passed, two opened bags of shredded cheese without labels or dates, an opened bag of hot dogs with no open date, a container of jelly with a use by date that had passed, a roll of bologna with no open date, and a bag of sliced cooked ham with a use by date that had passed were found during the kitchen inspection. These findings were confirmed through interviews with dietary staff and the Dietary Manager, who acknowledged the expectation for staff to label, date, and discard food items according to regulations. The Dietary Manager reported being on vacation during the period when the deficiencies occurred, and the Social Worker was assigned to make daily kitchen rounds using check-off sheets. The Social Worker noted undated and unlabeled food items on two occasions and reported these to kitchen staff, who stated they subsequently labeled and dated the items. The Administrator was unaware of the failure to properly label, date, and discard food items until informed during the survey. No information about specific residents or their conditions was provided in the report.