Widespread Food Safety and Sanitation Deficiencies in Food Service Operations
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors identified multiple failures in food storage, preparation, distribution, and service that did not meet professional standards for food safety. Observations in both the South and North Building kitchens revealed personal coats stored in food and single service item storage areas, soiled and dusty surfaces, broken wall tiles, and improper thawing of meats. Staff were seen in food preparation areas without required hairnets or beard nets, and there were numerous instances of undated, outdated, or unlabeled refrigerated foods. Food labeled as 'Keep Frozen' was found stored in refrigerators for unknown periods, and a bench style can opener was heavily soiled with food residue. Cases of food and single service items were stored directly on the floor, and raw meat was stored above ready-to-eat foods in the walk-in cooler. Equipment issues included a reach-in freezer with a broken door and unsafe temperatures, active water leaks from dishwashers, flies in dishwashing areas, missing or nonfunctional thermometers, and a missing floor drain grate. Nourishment refrigerators on multiple units were found to be soiled, contained expired or unlabeled foods, and lacked thermometers. Air and food temperatures in these refrigerators were frequently above safe ranges, with some measured as high as 62 degrees Fahrenheit. Trays of nourishments, including dairy products, were stored unrefrigerated for extended periods, and staff were unclear about the frequency of refrigerator cleaning and monitoring. Staff interviews confirmed that dietary and nursing staff were not consistently following policies for labeling, dating, and discarding perishable foods, and that there was confusion regarding responsibility for maintaining nourishment refrigerators. In several cases, expired or improperly stored foods were voluntarily discarded by staff during the survey. Additional deficiencies included the absence of chlorine test strips for low-temperature dishwashers, nonfunctional or unreadable thermometers on dishwashing machines, and the use of dry wiping cloths instead of storing them in sanitizing solution. Staff from other departments entered food preparation areas without appropriate hair restraints, and there was no current kitchen cleaning schedule in place. The Food Service Director and other staff acknowledged these issues during interviews, noting that some equipment problems had been reported but not resolved, and that cleaning schedules and food safety practices were not being consistently implemented.