F0812

E

Failure to Maintain Sanitary Food Handling and Kitchen Practices

Nampa, Idaho Survey Completed on 01-23-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

Surveyors identified a deficiency in the facility’s failure to maintain a clean and sanitary kitchen environment and to handle food in accordance with professional standards and the FDA Food Code for residents receiving food from the facility kitchen. During an observation, a dietary aide was seen walking through the kitchen without a hair net, and later acknowledged he should have been wearing one. On another occasion, a cook prepared over-easy eggs using unpasteurized eggs, removed them from the griddle with visibly runny yolks without checking temperatures, and confirmed that runny yolks were being served, despite the dietary manager stating eggs should not be served over easy. The over-easy eggs were not served for immediate service, and food temperatures for steam table items were not observed being taken or recorded during tray line service; the cook stated he kept temperatures in his mind and recorded them at the end of service, contrary to the dietary manager’s statement that temperatures should be taken and recorded prior to tray line.

Additional observations showed improper cleaning and sanitizing practices for food-contact surfaces and equipment. The cook used a dry cleaning cloth stored on top of a cutting board to wipe the edge of a resident’s plate, then returned the cloth to the cutting board used for food preparation, and later used the same cutting board to chop breakfast meat without obtaining a clean board. Clean cutting boards were observed to be scratched and scored with residue remaining in the grooves, and the dietary manager stated such boards should be replaced when residue cannot be cleaned. A sanitation bucket used after lunch tray line tested at less than 200 ppm, and the dietary aide who prepared it reported she knew it had not reached the required concentration but continued to use it to clean kitchen surfaces, acknowledging she should have made a new bucket with at least 200 ppm.

Surveyors also observed multiple issues with equipment cleanliness and dish-handling procedures. The interior of the ice machine had a thin line of black residue on the white separation plate, which the dietary manager confirmed, noting maintenance had cleaned it two months earlier and that more frequent cleaning should occur if needed. Dirty dishes were stacked on a kitchen preparation table above clean cutting boards, and the dietary manager and a dietary aide explained that dirty dishes were taken through the clean side of the dish room to be washed, stating they did not believe this procedure was incorrect because dirty dishes should not be taken through a clean kitchen. Cooking skillets were observed with scratched and visibly peeling interior coatings in the area where food would be cooked, and the dietary manager stated these skillets should have been replaced and not used for cooking.