Deficient Food Safety and Sanitation Practices in Dietary Services
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that food was stored, prepared, and served in a safe and sanitary manner, as evidenced by multiple observations and staff interviews. Staff did not consistently wear hair restraints that fully covered their hair and facial hair while preparing and serving food, despite facility policy and posted signage requiring full coverage. Specific staff members were observed with exposed hair and beards during meal preparation and service, and staff acknowledged that hair and facial hair should be fully covered at all times in the kitchen. Kitchen equipment and food service areas were not maintained in a clean and sanitary condition. The kitchen floors and shelves in the cook, prep, and serve areas were observed to be dirty and contained debris. Review of cleaning logs revealed that daily cleaning tasks were frequently not completed or documented, with a significant number of assigned tasks left unsigned over several weeks. The Director of Dining confirmed that staff were expected to complete cleaning assignments daily, but this was not occurring as required. Hand hygiene practices were not followed appropriately by staff during food preparation and service. Staff were observed touching food and food-contact surfaces with bare hands, wiping hands on clothing, adjusting glasses, and changing gloves without performing hand hygiene in between. Additionally, food and beverages were not consistently served at appropriate temperatures. Staff failed to obtain and record actual food temperatures during meal service, instead recording fabricated or estimated temperatures on logs. Test trays revealed that most hot and cold foods and beverages were not within the required temperature ranges, and resident grievances and council meeting minutes documented ongoing complaints about improper food temperatures.