Improper Food Storage, Labeling, and Sanitation in Kitchen and Nourishment Pantries
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to store and serve food and beverages in accordance with its own policies and professional food safety standards in the main kitchen and all four nourishment pantries. Facility policies required that unserved leftovers, bulk items, and all foods be covered, labeled, and dated, and that dietary supplements removed from the freezer be labeled with a use-by date. Policies also required that food brought in from outside sources be labeled with the resident’s name, room number, and date. Surveyors observed in the walk-in freezer an open plastic bag containing one and a half frozen pizzas that was not securely closed or date marked. In the walk-in refrigerator, multiple opened 46-ounce containers of juice (apple and cranberry) were not marked with an open or use-by date, contrary to staff statements that they should be. In the C1/D1 nourishment pantry, surveyors observed multiple thawed health shakes/juices (orange, vanilla, and chocolate) that were not date marked with a thawed or use-by date, with staff relying on tray dates to infer when they were pulled from the freezer. Additional thawed shakes/juices in the refrigerator drawer were also undated, and several food items identified as resident-owned (Greek yogurt, ice cream, flavored creamer, and a bag with blueberries and yogurt) lacked resident identifiers. In the A1/B1 pantry, multiple resident food items (ice cream, mochi, coleslaw) lacked resident identifiers, and several dry goods (thickener, hot chocolate mix, cereals, peanut butter) were not labeled and dated; thawed nutritional shakes/juices were also undated, and dried spills were present inside the refrigerator. Similar issues were found in the B2 pantry, where a half chicken salad sandwich and numerous thawed shakes/juices were undated and dried liquid was on the bottom shelf, and in the C2/D2 pantry, where numerous frozen resident food items lacked identifiers and dates, thawed shakes/juices and applesauce cups were undated, and dried spills of liquids, applesauce, and pudding were present. In dry storage, multiple cans of vegetables and beans were not date marked. The Nursing Home Administrator stated the expectation that food would be stored to meet regulatory standards.
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