F0804

E

Failure to Ensure Meals Served at Safe and Appetizing Temperatures

Denton, Texas Survey Completed on 01-29-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

Surveyors identified a deficiency in the facility’s failure to ensure that residents’ food and drink were palatable, attractive, and served at safe and appetizing temperatures for 37 of 39 residents on regular, mechanical, or pureed diets. The Resident Council President reported that for the past six months, she and other residents had been complaining during council meetings that the food served at all meals was always cold, and she stated she had communicated these concerns to the Dietary Manager. During an observation with the Dietary Manager, test trays for regular, mechanical, and pureed diets were found to be lukewarm. The Dietary Manager stated she only sometimes checked to ensure the cook was checking food temperatures during preparation, did not do so regularly, and was not present when temperatures were taken. She also stated she received temperature logs from cooks at the end of the day but could not provide temperature logs for the breakfast and lunch meals served on the day of the survey.

A cook reported that he had been at the facility for four months and usually took food temperatures when removing items from the stove, with readings well over 165 degrees, but that no one verified his temperature checks and he was never instructed on when to check food temperatures. He stated he simply turned in the temperature information at the end of his shift. Record review of the facility’s temperature logbook showed no temperature logs for the breakfast and lunch meals served to residents on the survey date. The facility’s undated Resident Rights policy stated that residents have a right to a dignified existence, self-determination, and communication with and access to persons and services inside and outside the facility.