Failure to Properly Store and Label Food Items
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to store food in accordance with professional standards for food service safety, as evidenced by multiple observations of improperly stored and expired food items. During inspection of the kitchen freezer, several opened bags of diced strawberries, cut chicken, and frozen meatballs were found without dates. The Dietary Manager confirmed these items were opened and not dated. In the dry storage room, two cans of chickpeas were found to be expired, and a bag of prunes was past its use-by date, which was also confirmed by the Dietary Manager. Additionally, in the memory care unit refrigerator, three cartons of milk were found to be expired, and a block of cheese was open and undated, as confirmed by an LNA. Further observations in the kitchen revealed 16 cranberry sauce packets in the refrigerator with a use-by date that had already passed, and the Dietary Manager confirmed these should have been discarded. Additional items in the kitchen freezer, including a package of chicken breast, a packet of chicken patties, and a package of chicken tenders, were also found opened and not dated. These findings were confirmed by the Dietary Manager. The facility's own policy requires all opened or prepared foods to be stored in approved containers, labeled with a description and date, and for TCS foods to be labeled with the date made and use-by date, with unused TCS food discarded within 7 days. The observed failures to follow these procedures led to the deficiency.