Failure to Properly Label and Store Food Items in Kitchen
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed that the facility failed to store, prepare, distribute, and serve food in accordance with professional standards for food service safety. Specifically, food items in the freezer, such as large pizzas, tater tots, and hash browns, were found sealed but lacked item description labels and distinguishing dates. Additionally, one bag of hash browns was found opened and exposed to air. In the walk-in refrigerator, hardboiled eggs were stored in a sealed bag without an item description label, and the date on the bag was indistinguishable. These observations were made during a review of the facility's only kitchen. Interviews with the Kitchen Supervisor and staff revealed inconsistent practices regarding labeling and dating food items. The Kitchen Supervisor stated that labels sometimes fall off and, in such cases, items are relabeled with the date of an identical item or the date the item was found unlabeled. Responsibilities for labeling were divided among staff, with the PM Kitchen Aide, AM Kitchen Aide, and cook each responsible for different storage areas. The facility's Food Storage Policy requires all food stored in the refrigerator or freezer to be covered, labeled, and dated, but this was not consistently followed as evidenced by the survey findings.