F0812

E

Improper Food Labeling, Dating, and Storage in Kitchen and Nourishment Rooms

Wilmington, North Carolina Survey Completed on 03-18-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

Surveyors identified a deficiency in the facility’s food service operations related to improper labeling, dating, and storage of food items in the kitchen and nourishment rooms. During an initial kitchen tour with the Dietary Manager, an opened plastic bag of hard-boiled eggs was found in the walk-in cooler without a date, and in the walk-in freezer an opened undated plastic bag of breadsticks and an opened bag of shredded cheese labeled as opened on 1/9/26 were observed. The Dietary Manager stated that all food items were expected to be labeled and dated upon opening and that expired items were to be discarded.

Further observations in the nourishment rooms and kitchen revealed additional issues. In the 100-hall nourishment room refrigerator, a plastic grocery bag containing apples and oranges lacked a resident name and date, and seven single-serve orange juice containers had a best-by date of 1/24/26. In the 300-hall nourishment room refrigerator, four orange juice containers with a best-by date of 1/24/26 and six with a best-by date of 1/17/26 were found. The Dietary Manager reported that Dietary Aides were responsible for daily checks of nourishment room refrigerators and stated the refrigerator had been checked that day but did not know how the expired and unlabeled items were missed. In the kitchen, three opened loaves of bread in unmarked clear plastic bags, with incomplete or missing dates, were stored on a shelf in very close proximity to two open half-full containers of sanitizing cleaning solution. The Dietary Manager confirmed that food should not be stored near cleaning solutions and that food items should be labeled and dated, and the Administrator stated he expected staff to check for and discard expired food and to label and date stored food items.