Expired Food Items and Lack of Food Storage Policy in Kitchen
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors found that the facility failed to ensure food was discarded and stored according to professional food service safety standards in the kitchen. During observations of the dry storage area, two 19.5-ounce plastic squeeze bottles of chocolate syrup were noted with a manufacturer’s expiration date of 5/16/25. In the walk-in refrigerator, three 19.5-ounce bottles of chocolate syrup and three 19.5-ounce bottles of vanilla syrup were found opened, all displaying the same expiration date of 5/16/25. The Dietary Manager confirmed that these chocolate and vanilla syrups were past the manufacturer’s use-by date and should not have been available for use, and stated that these items were used during activities and should have been checked by dietary staff, who were ultimately responsible for ensuring food items were not expired. During an interview, the Administrator reported that the facility had no policy that directly addressed manufacturer use-by dates or expiration dates displayed on food items. Review of the existing policy titled “Equipment Cleaning and Sanitation Policy,” dated 08/25/20, showed it only addressed maintaining a clean and sanitary environment in food service areas and did not include food storage policies or procedures. All 109 residents received food from this kitchen, and the deficiency was based on the presence and potential use of expired food items and the lack of a specific policy addressing food expiration and storage.
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