Failure to Maintain Safe Food Storage in Resident's Personal Refrigerator
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that food stored in a resident's personal refrigerator was maintained in accordance with professional food service safety standards. During observation, the resident's refrigerator was found to contain several food items, including fruit, open containers of ketchup and mayonnaise, and a partially empty container of lunch meat, all of which felt warm to the touch. The refrigerator temperature was recorded at 75.3 degrees F, and there was no thermometer present. The resident reported that the refrigerator temperature had not been checked recently, and that family members had recently provided groceries. There was no evidence of gastrointestinal illness reported by the resident at the time of the survey. Interviews with staff revealed a lack of clarity regarding responsibility for monitoring and documenting refrigerator temperatures, as well as uncertainty about the facility's policy on labeling and dating food in personal refrigerators. The temperature log for the resident's refrigerator was missing for the relevant month, and the staff member responsible for the log had not performed a check during that period. The facility's policy required all food items to be labeled with the resident's name and date of placement, perishable items to be discarded after three days unless otherwise directed, and refrigerator temperatures to be maintained at or below 41 degrees F. These requirements were not met in this instance.