Failure to Serve Meals at Safe and Palatable Temperatures and Maintain Temperature Documentation
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to serve food and beverages to residents at appropriate, palatable temperatures and within scheduled meal times. Two residents reported that their meals were often delivered late, resulting in hot foods being served cold and cold foods being served warm or hot. One resident specifically mentioned that coffee was sometimes cold upon delivery, and another stated that milk was served warm. Observations confirmed that lunch was served late, and food temperatures taken at the time of service were outside the facility's policy standards, with hot foods below the required temperature and cold foods above the safe threshold. Interviews with the Dietary Supervisor Assistant revealed awareness of ongoing complaints about late meal service, particularly over the weekend. The facility's policy outlined specific meal service times and temperature requirements for various food items, but these standards were not consistently met. The last lunch tray on the day of observation showed multiple items not meeting the required temperatures, such as sweet potato fries and roast beef sandwich being served below 140°F, and milk, chocolate milk, and coleslaw being served above 41°F. A review of the Food Temperature Log for June showed numerous missing entries for required food and beverage temperature checks prior to meal distribution. The log lacked documentation for various meal components across multiple days, including main entrees, substitutes, milk, juice, and desserts. The Dietary Supervisor Assistant confirmed that temperatures should be recorded before serving meals and that the log should be reviewed daily to ensure compliance, as per facility policy.