Failure to Discard and Monitor PHFs During Power Outage Leads to Immediate Jeopardy
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to maintain safe storage and handling of potentially hazardous foods (PHFs) during an extended power outage, resulting in the service of milk and other PHFs that were held above safe temperature guidelines. The power outage began early in the morning and lasted for over ten hours, during which the backup generator did not supply power to kitchen appliances, including refrigerators and freezers. Kitchen staff were instructed to keep appliance doors closed, but the refrigerator containing milk and juice was opened multiple times for meal service, and no consistent temperature monitoring was performed during the outage. After the outage, staff observed that the refrigerator temperature had risen to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, well above the safe limit for PHFs. Despite this, no food was discarded, and the milk stored in the affected refrigerator was served to residents during subsequent meal services. Staff interviews confirmed that neither the cook nor the dietary manager took or documented further temperature readings after the initial high temperature was noted, and the dietary manager acknowledged serving the milk for dinner and breakfast following the outage. Temperature logs for the day of the outage were marked as out of service, and no corrective action regarding the food was taken at that time. All 33 residents in the facility were served PHFs that had been stored above safe temperatures for an extended period. The deficiency was identified when a complaint investigator interviewed kitchen staff and reviewed records, confirming that the facility did not follow established food safety guidelines for discarding PHFs held above 45 degrees Fahrenheit for more than four hours. The incident was classified as immediate jeopardy due to the risk of foodborne illness to all residents.
Removal Plan
- Discarding affected PHFs
- Education to food service staff
- Implementing safety protocols for food temperature monitoring
- Updating policies and procedures