F0812

E

Unsanitary Kitchen Equipment and Improper Air Drying of Dishes and Trays

Rocky Mount, North Carolina Survey Completed on 01-15-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

Failure to maintain sanitary food service conditions occurred when kitchen equipment and surfaces were not properly cleaned and when dishes and trays were stacked while still wet. During a kitchen observation with the Dietary Manager, the fryer was found with dark brown liquid and food crumbs covering the bottom and inside walls; the Dietary Manager stated it was last cleaned two weeks prior, and records showed the last documented cleaning was on 12/25/25. Additional observations showed a yellow, sticky substance on the wall behind the bread rack, around a bulletin board, and below an air conditioner, with the Dietary Manager acknowledging the walls had probably not been cleaned in over a month and that wall cleaning was not on the current schedule. The air conditioner wall unit above a preparation table had a black/brown substance inside the unit and over the filter spaces, and the Dietary Manager reported it had last been cleaned during the previous summer and was also not on the cleaning schedule. The Administrator confirmed that cleaning of the fryer, walls, and air conditioner unit should be done in a timely, consistent manner.

Multiple observations on different days showed that meal trays, cups, pans, and dishes were stacked with “wet nesting” instead of being fully air dried before storage or use. Over seventy meal trays on the tray line, fifty-five plastic juice cups stacked in pairs under the tea machine, four full-service pans on the cook’s clean cart, and ninety-one plates behind the tray line were all observed with wet nesting, despite the Dietary Manager stating that all items should be air dried and normally left on racks to dry. The Dietary Manager attributed some of the problem to a newly hired cook/dietary aide still in training and later stated that staff were moving too fast during dishwashing and did not allow enough time for air drying. On a subsequent observation, nine full pans and seventy-three meal trays were again found with wet nesting; the dietary aide responsible for air drying trays acknowledged that dishes and silverware needed to be air dried but suggested residual wetness might have come from her wet gloves, while another staff member responsible for pots and pans stated he knew they should be air dried but had too many items and not enough room to dry them all. The Administrator stated that all dishes and pans should be air dried prior to use or storage.