Failure to Remove Expired Food and Label Opened Items in Food Storage Areas
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to remove expired food items and properly label and date opened or leftover food in both the walk-in refrigerator and the Rehabilitation Hall nourishment room. During an observation in the kitchen, multiple food items were found without opened dates, including Swiss cheese, deli meats, muffins, and beverages. Some items, such as stewed tomatoes and honey thick orange juice, were found past their use-by dates. The Dietary Manager acknowledged that all items should be labeled and expired items discarded, but cited challenges in maintaining this standard due to frequent staff turnover and falling behind on audits. In the Rehabilitation Hall nourishment room, additional issues were observed, including opened nutritional supplements and leftover food items without dates or labels, as well as expired food items that had not been discarded. The Dietary Manager confirmed that dietary staff were responsible for checking and stocking the nourishment room refrigerators daily, but expired and unlabeled items were still present. The Administrator stated that all food items should be properly labeled with resident names and dates, and expired items should be discarded immediately, but these expectations were not met.