Expired and Unlabeled Food Found in Kitchen and Storage Areas
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed that the facility failed to store, prepare, distribute, and serve food in accordance with professional standards for food service safety. During an inspection of the kitchen's refrigerator, multiple items were found past their expiration dates, including gallon containers of unsweet tea dated a week prior to the observation, and numerous glasses of unsweet tea, fruit punch, and orange juice that were not labeled or dated. In the dry storage area, several bags of panko breadcrumbs and cookie pieces were also found to be expired. Staff interviews revealed inconsistent practices regarding the responsibility and frequency of checking for expired foods, with some staff indicating it was the Dietary Manager's (DM) responsibility, while others stated it was a shared duty among all kitchen staff. The DM was not present on the day the food truck arrived, and staff were unsure why the routine check for expired foods did not occur as scheduled. Facility policy requires all opened and bulk items to be stored in tightly covered, labeled, and dated containers, and for all refrigerated foods to be labeled, dated, and used within 72 hours. However, record review and staff interviews confirmed that these procedures were not consistently followed. The Administrator acknowledged that both staff and administration are responsible for daily checks of expired foods, but the last documented checks of the refrigerator and dry storage area occurred several days prior to the survey. Staff recognized that failure to remove expired foods could result in residents consuming spoiled items.