F0812

F

Widespread Kitchen Sanitation and Hand Hygiene Failures During Food Preparation and Service

Saint Louis, Missouri Survey Completed on 11-17-2025

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to store, prepare, and serve food in accordance with professional standards and its own policies over multiple days of observation. Surveyors observed that the designated kitchen handwashing sink did not produce hot water despite being allowed to run for approximately two minutes on several occasions. Staff, including dietary personnel, were unaware of whether the water ever became hot. Handwashing signage posted at the sink specified that hands should be washed with hot running water and outlined proper handwashing steps, but staff did not consistently follow these procedures. The facility’s Administrator and Dietary Manager (DM) later stated that they had not been informed of the hot water issue until the survey, and the Maintenance Supervisor reported he was only told about the problem on the day of the survey.

During breakfast meal preparation, surveyors observed multiple instances of staff failing to wash their hands at appropriate times and handling food after contact with potentially contaminated surfaces. One dietary staff member began meal preparation after only donning gloves, without first washing hands. This staff member handled a dirty blender in the 3‑vat sink, then, without washing hands, entered the walk‑in cooler, retrieved a box of individual butter servings, and placed butter on resident trays. After picking up a butter container that had fallen on the floor, the staff member discarded it but again did not wash hands before resuming food handling, instead only changing gloves. The same staff member repeatedly changed gloves without handwashing between tasks, including after washing equipment in the sink and before preparing pureed foods and handling other meal components.

Another dietary aide arrived carrying a personal cell phone and wearing a face mask, placed the phone on a serving cart, and later moved it to a food preparation station. After answering the kitchen phone, pulling the face mask down, and handling trays and condiments, this aide did not wash hands or don gloves before continuing to handle resident trays and food items. Although the aide did wash hands at one point, the water at the handwashing sink was noted to be cold. The aide was also observed adjusting a face mask and then continuing to handle syrup containers and cups, and later placing gloves on without washing hands. The DM later stated that staff were expected to wash their hands when they first arrive, when changing gloves, and after touching masks or phones, and that phones should not be placed on food preparation stations.

The facility also failed to maintain a clean and sanitary kitchen environment as required by its Nutritional Services Sanitation and Ware Washing policies and its daily, weekly, and monthly kitchen checklists. On multiple days, surveyors observed kitchen floors with dirt and debris, dried and sticky spills, and food items such as a juice cup and tater tot left on floors and carts. In the dry storage room, a single‑serve juice cup lay on the floor surrounded by dried liquid, and oily and sticky spills remained under and near storage racks and the doorway over several days. Dirty dishes with caked‑on food debris from the prior day were left in the dishwashing area. Under the 3‑vat sink, the floor was sticky, with wet cardboard, an opened butter container, and food debris present. The 3‑vat sink’s sanitize basin contained dried, caked‑on meat and food debris, and a baby roach was seen crawling across the shelf above the sink.

Additional unsanitary conditions included flour and sugar bins stored on the floor, with exteriors covered in drips and greasy smears and dried puree‑like drips on the sugar bin lid. A two‑tier stainless‑steel table in the back serving area had rusty spots where the finish was missing and dried food drips and greasy spills on the bottom tier, where clean muffin pans and a cutting board were stored. Behind the ice machine, surveyors observed a large amount of debris and trash, a build‑up of a black, thick substance, a leak causing a puddle, and a swollen, wet wall with a hole and dark, fuzzy material. Under the dishwashing sink, an opened single‑serve peanut butter container and crumpled plastic wrap were on the floor. The dishwashing sink contained dried food debris including pickles, onions, strawberries, greens, and other items, and a floor drain near the 3‑vat sink had food debris caked around the edges, with a roach seen crawling out of the drain.

Evidence of pest activity was repeatedly documented. Surveyors observed a baby roach near the 3‑vat sink, a large roach crawling from under the stove to under the steam table, and dead roaches on the steam table shelf next to clean dishes and on the floor in front of the steam table. A greasy paper towel was stuck to the bottom shelf of the steam table, and there was a build‑up of debris under the serving station/steam table. The DM acknowledged seeing roaches and stated there was a daily cleaning list that staff were supposed to sign when tasks were completed.

Dry goods and seasonings were not properly covered or stored. On multiple observations in the back preparation station, containers of fajita seasoning, ground thyme leaves, rotisserie seasoning, black pepper, and salt were left open on shelves or counters, and a large tub of parsley flakes had no lid. The sugar bin on the floor had its lid propped open. The DM later stated she was unsure where the parsley lid was and acknowledged that seasoning containers and the sugar and salt bin lids should be closed when not in use. Review of the facility’s daily, weekly, and monthly kitchen checklists showed numerous items either left blank or not documented as completed, including cleaning of dishes, sinks, work counters, steam tables, floors, storage areas, ovens, stainless‑steel surfaces, deep fryer, and deep cleaning under prep stations and cook’s areas. These observations and records showed that the facility did not consistently follow its own sanitation and ware washing policies or complete required cleaning tasks, affecting the kitchen environment from which food was prepared and served to all residents.