Failure to Maintain Safe and Sanitary Food Storage and Preparation Practices
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 monitor or document food cooling temperatures, and there was no food cooling log present in the kitchen. Cooked foods such as egg salad and pasta salad were found in the walk-in cooler without proper documentation of cooling procedures, and the Dietary Manager confirmed that there was no established process for cooling and storing leftover foods for later consumption. Staff routinely saved cooked food that was not cooled properly, leading to frequent disposal of these items. Sanitizing procedures were also not followed according to manufacturer instructions. Staff used quaternary sanitizing solution to clean food preparation surfaces but did not test the solution for proper parts per million (PPM) concentration or temperature, nor did they maintain a log for this purpose. Dietary staff confirmed that they did not test or document the PPM of the sanitizing solution, and there was no established procedure for monitoring this critical aspect of food safety. The warewashing process was not adequately monitored or documented. The dishwashing machine did not consistently reach the manufacturer's recommended wash and rinse temperatures, and logs showed multiple entries where temperatures and PPM were out of range. Staff did not rerun dishes through the machine when minimum temperatures were not met, and the machine's thermometer was found to be malfunctioning. Additionally, numerous food items in the walk-in cooler, freezer, and dry storage were found to be undated, expired, or improperly labeled, including bread, buns, cheese, pancakes, meat products, and canned goods. The Dietary Manager confirmed these items were not compliant with facility policy or FDA Food Code requirements.