Unpalatable and Cold Food Served During Meal Service
Penalty
Summary
During a lunch meal service, dietary staff prepared and delivered food trays to the north hall. The process began at 11:41 a.m. with the preparation of the meal cart, which was completed and left the kitchen at 11:58 a.m., arriving on the north hall at 11:59 a.m. Trays were distributed to residents starting at 12:00 p.m. and completed by 12:05 p.m. A test tray was evaluated at 12:16 p.m., revealing that the turkey was 120.4 degrees Fahrenheit and the capri blend vegetables were 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Both items were found to be cold and not palatable. The Dietary Manager confirmed during an interview that the turkey and vegetables were cold and not palatable.
Plan Of Correction
The hot plate warmer was turned up to ensure sufficient heating of the plates during meal service. All staff were re-educated on proper temperatures during meal service. The Dietary Manager will audit food temperatures at the end of meal service for random meals daily x5 for 2 weeks, then 3 times per week for 2 weeks, then weekly x4 with results to Quality Assurance. Any food temperatures found to be outside of range or unpalatable will be replaced for an alternative preferred item. F 0804