Food Storage, Hand Hygiene, and Kitchen Sanitation Deficiencies
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors identified that the facility failed to store and label food in a safe and sanitary manner and did not follow its own food storage policies. During a morning observation, multiple food items in the kitchen were found uncovered, unlabeled, and undated, including a bowl of cookies in envelopes, a tray of uncovered cookies on a prep table, three foil-wrapped sandwiches in the refrigerator, a large metal bowl of fajita mix, an open bag of vanilla wafers, thawed chocolate magic cups labeled to be kept frozen, six cups of yogurt, a red bowl with an unknown substance, an open bottle of water, and several cups of pre-poured juices and milk. The kitchen manager confirmed that these items should have been covered, labeled, and dated, and facility policies required dry and cold storage areas to be maintained to keep food safe and free from contamination, with opened packages stored in sealed containers and all items labeled and dated. Surveyors also observed multiple failures in hand hygiene and glove use during food preparation, temperature checking, and tray line service, as well as unsanitary kitchen conditions. One dietary staff member preparing pureed salmon patties repeatedly reached a gloved hand into a mixer to scrape the sides, then used the same gloved hand to handle a broth jar and blender controls without performing hand hygiene or changing gloves, and reported staff had been instructed to use their hands rather than utensils for scraping. Another dietary staff member taking food temperatures stuck gloved fingers into baked beans, used those fingers to wipe the thermometer, then used a sanitizer wipe and, without changing gloves or performing hand hygiene, placed the thermometer into salmon patties and potatoes, confirming that his gloves became soiled and were not changed. During tray line service, a dietary staff member handled a roll and then, without changing gloves, used his hands to grab other food items for trays. Additionally, overhead vents above food preparation and service areas were observed to have a thick layer of dust, and the kitchen manager confirmed the vents were dirty and dust was blowing above food preparation areas. These issues affected all residents who consumed food from the kitchen, except one resident who did not eat food from the kitchen.
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