Deficient Food Storage, Preparation, and Service Practices
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed multiple failures in the facility's food storage, preparation, and service practices. In the walk-in refrigerator, several food items, including lemons, lemonade, lettuce, cucumbers, raw meats, and pureed foods, were found either undated, lacking discard dates, or past their expiration dates. Additionally, some food items were not labeled at all. Flour tortillas were also found with an expiration date approaching, and brown puree was not labeled. These observations were corroborated by staff interviews, which revealed inconsistent practices regarding checking and discarding outdated food. In the kitchen, serving utensils were stored in drawers containing food debris, and the fryer grease was observed to be dirty with visible food particles. Staff interviews indicated varying frequencies for cleaning utensil drawers and changing fryer grease, with some staff stating drawers were cleaned weekly and others after each shift. There was also inconsistency in checking for outdated food, with some staff reporting daily checks and others weekly or twice weekly. The facility's food temperature policy requires all hot food to be served at a minimum of 140 degrees Fahrenheit, but observations showed that food temperatures were not consistently taken before serving, specifically for fried chicken, mixed vegetables, and pureed bread. During meal service, a CNA was observed not sanitizing hands between handling food trays and delivering them to residents' rooms, despite being trained on food safety and infection control. Interviews with other staff confirmed the expectation for hand hygiene between serving trays, but the observed practice did not align with this standard. These combined actions and inactions in food labeling, storage, temperature monitoring, utensil cleanliness, fryer maintenance, and hand hygiene led to the identified deficiency in food service safety.