Failure to Maintain Sanitary Kitchen and Food Safety Standards
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to maintain a clean and sanitary kitchen environment and did not store or handle food in accordance with professional standards for food service safety. Surveyors observed that the dishwashing machine's temperature and sanitizer status were not monitored or logged daily, as confirmed by the Dietary Manager. Additionally, there was no documentation of daily cooler and freezer temperature checks for multiple days in November, and the Dietary Manager acknowledged that these checks were not being performed or recorded as required by facility policy. Food temperature logs were also incomplete, with several days lacking records for meal temperatures, which was confirmed by staff interviews. Further observations revealed that dietary staff did not consistently wear appropriate hair restraints while preparing food. Specifically, a dietary staff member with facial hair was seen preparing and handling food without a proper facial hair covering on multiple occasions and admitted to not wearing one, which was corroborated by the Dietary Manager. These failures were in direct violation of the facility's own policies regarding personal hygiene and food safety, and had the potential to affect all residents receiving meals from the kitchen.