Unclean Steamtable Compartments Used During Meal Service
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to store, prepare, distribute, and serve food in accordance with professional standards for food service safety in its only kitchen. Observations on two separate occasions revealed that all four steamtable compartments contained food and debris floating in them while food was being held for meal service. The specific foods present included sausage jambalaya, capri vegetables, fortified mashed potatoes, mechanical soft sausage jambalaya, brown gravy, pureed vegetables, pureed bread, Salisbury steaks, and pureed jambalaya. These conditions were directly observed prior to and during meal service. Interviews with the Dietary Manager (DM) confirmed awareness of the food and debris in the steamtable compartments before lunch service, with the DM stating that cleaning typically occurred at the end of each shift, not between breakfast and lunch. The DM acknowledged that the expectation was for the steamtable compartments to be cleaned before food was placed in them and that all staff had been trained accordingly. Review of the facility's policy indicated a requirement for a routine cleaning schedule for all cooking equipment and surfaces.