Improper Food Storage and Labeling in Facility Refrigerator
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed that food items in the nourishment room refrigerator were not stored in accordance with professional standards or facility policy. Specifically, six packages of fruit, a container of cheese, and a Styrofoam takeout container with unidentified food were found unlabeled and undated. Additional items in the bottom drawer, including two packages of raspberries (dated over a month prior), a package of cheese, and a package of bologna, were covered in a grey, fuzzy substance. The cheese and bologna were undated. Five cartons of milk stored in the refrigerator door were found to be expired. The Director of Nursing confirmed these findings and acknowledged that the food was improperly labeled, undated, expired, and in some cases visibly spoiled. Facility policy requires that food brought in by visitors or family be labeled with the resident's name and date, and that dietary staff monitor and discard items after three days, which was not followed in these instances.