Expired Food and Milk Not Discarded in Kitchen and Nourishment Refrigerators
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed that the facility failed to discard expired food items in both the main kitchen's walk-in produce refrigerator and a nourishment refrigerator. During a tour of the kitchen, three red bell peppers covered with gray and white fuzz were found in a box without a date, and the Lead Chef admitted to having cut around a pepper with fuzz earlier that morning for meal preparation. The Dietary Manager confirmed that bell peppers should be inspected upon receipt and daily, but this was not consistently done. The Administrator was unaware of how the expired produce remained in the refrigerator. Additionally, a gallon of milk with a 'best if used by' date that had already passed was found in a nourishment refrigerator, with about three-quarters of the milk still present. The Lead Chef and dietary aides acknowledged shared responsibility for checking for expired items, but interviews revealed that expiration dates were not always checked, and the expired milk had been used to serve a resident that morning. The Administrator stated that the expired milk should have been discarded, but was unsure how it was overlooked.