Failure to Ensure Safe Food Preparation and Service
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that food was prepared and served in a manner that prevents foodborne illness. On the day in question, after running out of chicken, hamburger patties were substituted and cooked by staff. The cook and another staff member did not check the internal temperature of the hamburger patties before placing them on buns and preparing them for service to residents. A state surveyor intervened and requested that the temperatures of two patties be checked; the readings were 149 and 151 degrees Fahrenheit, both below the recommended safe temperature for ground beef. Despite this, a staff member instructed that the undercooked hamburgers be placed on trays to be served to residents, but the surveyor intervened again and the hamburgers were removed from service. These actions demonstrate a failure to follow proper food safety protocols, specifically regarding the cooking and serving of ground beef at safe temperatures, and the lack of temperature monitoring prior to serving food to residents.