Failure to Maintain Hot Food at Required Serving Temperatures During Meal Service
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that hot foods were served at palatable and appetizing temperatures during lunch meal service on two of six units observed. Facility policy titled "Food Temperatures" required all hot food items to be served to residents at a temperature of at least 140°F at the time the resident received the food. The meal delivery schedule showed that lunch for one unit was scheduled for 11:55 AM and another unit at 12:10 PM. On the day of observation, a food truck was delivered to the first floor at 11:50 AM, and staff distributed trays to residents in their rooms until 12:10 PM. Test trays conducted at 12:10 PM on the first floor with the Food Service Director showed that items on a regular diet tray (baked potato, turkey chili, green beans) measured between 90°F and 110°F, and items on a puree diet tray (mashed potato, puree green beans, puree turkey) measured between 122°F and 130°F, all below the required 140°F. On the second floor, the food truck arrived at 12:15 PM, and staff delivered trays to residents in their rooms until 12:39 PM. Test trays conducted at 12:39 PM with the Food Service Director showed that items on a puree diet tray (puree green beans, puree turkey, mashed potato) measured between 124°F and 130°F, and items on a regular diet tray (baked potato, green beans, turkey chili with beans) measured between 116°F and 123°F, again below the facility’s required hot food temperature. During an interview, the Food Service Director stated that hot foods should be served above 140°F to be palatable and acknowledged that hot foods were not maintained at the appropriate temperature range during the observed meal service. The Director also stated that food temperature issues had been brought up in the past and previously addressed by replacing equipment and conducting monthly temperature audits, and that no further issues had been reported since then.
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