Failure to Follow Standardized Menus, Recipes, and Portion Sizes for Beef Stew Meal Service
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to follow its planned menus and standardized recipes for a lunch meal, affecting both regular and pureed beef stew preparations and portions. Facility policy required that nourishing, palatable meals be provided based on RDAs, with standardized cycle menus planned in advance and utilized, and that cooks prepare menu items following written menus and standardized recipes. For the lunch meal in question, the facility’s recipe for beef stew specified beef, Spanish onions, red potatoes, carrots, and celery, and the pureed version was to be made by processing the prepared beef stew until smooth. Observations showed the cook preparing pureed beef stew without potatoes or carrots present in the stew being pureed, and then adding carrots only to the regular beef stew, indicating the recipe was not followed for the pureed diet. The facility’s menu extension for that lunch specified that regular diets were to receive beef stew using an 8 oz serving spoon or two #8 (4 oz) disher scoops, and pureed diets were to receive two #8 (4 oz) disher scoops. However, observations showed the cook serving the regular beef stew with a 6 oz ladle and the pureed beef stew with only one #8 (4 oz) disher scoop, contrary to the planned portions. In interviews, the cook stated he did not follow any recipes because he believed the facility did not have any, and that he relied on a spreadsheet for portion sizes, thinking he had used an 8 oz ladle for regular stew and a #10 (3.2 oz) disher scoop for pureed stew, and that he had been told to always use the #10 scoop. The Regional Dietary Services Consultant, the Registered Dietitian, and the Administrator each stated their expectation that staff follow menus, recipes, and specified portion sizes to meet residents’ nutritional needs and maintain weight, underscoring that the observed practices did not align with facility policies or expectations.
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