Failure to Serve Hot Foods at Required Temperatures
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure hot foods were served at a palatable, safe, and appetizing temperature when a resident received a lunch meal that was below the facility’s required hot food temperatures. The resident, who had type 2 diabetes mellitus, dementia, and an anxiety disorder, had an MDS indicating no cognitive impairment and required varying levels of assistance with ADLs such as bathing, dressing, oral care, toileting, and personal hygiene. The resident reported during interview that sometimes the food served was too cold. During a noon meal observation, the meal tray cart was placed in the hallway near a nurses’ station, and staff began delivering trays a few minutes later, with the resident’s tray delivered several minutes after the cart was opened. Upon observation and temperature testing of the resident’s lunch tray, which consisted of pureed chicken with sauce, pureed cauliflower, pureed pasta, and pureed bread, the pureed chicken measured 104°F and the pureed cauliflower measured 118°F. The resident tasted the chicken and stated it was lukewarm and should be hot. The Food Service Manager stated that hot foods should generally be served around 145°F and acknowledged that if trays sit in the hallway too long, food temperatures will drop. The facility’s Meal Service policy required hot food serving temperatures to be at or above a minimum holding temperature of 140°F, with recommended delivery temperatures greater than 120°F for hot entrées, which was not met for the resident’s pureed chicken.
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