Failure to Maintain and Document Safe Food Service Equipment Temperatures
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to utilize kitchen equipment in accordance with professional standards for food service safety, specifically regarding the operation, cleaning, and maintenance of the dishwasher and the logging of refrigerator and freezer temperatures. Facility policy required that thermometers be checked for proper temperatures, with the wash cycle of the dishwasher to register at least 150°F, and that maintenance be notified if temperatures were not achieved. However, review of temperature logs revealed multiple instances across several months where temperatures for dietary freezers and refrigerators were not logged on numerous dates, and dish machine wash temperatures were recorded below the minimum safe temperature on several occasions for various meals. Additionally, there was no documentation of corrective action being taken in response to the low dish machine temperatures, nor was there evidence that alternative manual ware washing techniques were implemented when required temperatures were not met. Interviews with kitchen staff indicated that temperature logs were likely not completed on days when certain staff were not present, further contributing to the lack of compliance with facility policy and professional standards. The absence of recorded temperatures and lack of corrective action was consistent across multiple months and meal periods. The facility administrator confirmed that it was the expectation for kitchen equipment temperature logs to be recorded daily in accordance with professional standards. The findings were cited under 28 Pa. Code 201.14(a) and 28 Pa. Code 201.18(b)(1), indicating a failure in management and responsibility of the licensee to ensure proper food safety practices were consistently followed.