F0812

F

Improper Food Storage, Labeling, and Unsanitary Meal Service Practices

Easley, South Carolina Survey Completed on 08-06-2025

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to store, label, date, and discard food in accordance with its own policies and professional standards, as well as a failure to maintain sanitary practices during food service. The facility’s policies on labeling and dating, dry food storage, and cold food storage require that all foods be labeled with item name, date of preparation/opening/removal from freezer, and a use-by date, and that foods be properly sealed, wrapped, and stored to prevent contamination. Surveyors observed numerous dry storage items without required use-by dates, with unclear or missing prep/open dates, and with visible debris. Examples included large containers of peanut butter, pudding and pie filling mixes, icing, cornmeal, pasta, and rice that were either missing use-by dates, missing content labels, or not properly sealed. A wooden rat trap was also observed in the dry food storage area at the base of the water heater.

In the coolers and walk-in refrigerator, surveyors found multiple items that were not labeled, not sealed, or not dated according to policy. Items included chopped garlic, beef base, pimento spread, sweet pickle relish, mayonnaise, tomato soup, egg salad, peaches, lima beans, and other prepared foods with missing or unclear open/prep dates and/or missing use-by dates. Some containers were unlabeled, and some items, such as hot dog buns, were not sealed. Prepared foods such as chicken salad, omelets, and various meats and vegetables had prep dates but no use-by dates, or had unclear dating. In the reach-in cooler, milk and eggs were present with manufacturer dates that had passed or were not clearly addressed. In the walk-in freezer, surveyors observed opened and repackaged frozen items such as fish, Italian sausage, riblets, hashbrowns, peppers, coffee cake, and pepperoni with unclear or missing use-by dates, ice particles on some items, and a container full of debris. Bread products on a rack near the reach-in cooler included items with visible mold (a hot dog bun with fuzzy green substance) and multiple bread items with older dates and no use-by dates.

The deficiency also includes unsanitary practices during food preparation and meal service. During kitchen observation, a staff member temping food for lunch service used the same alcohol wipe four times before discarding it. Dessert bowls with parfaits were observed on serving carts at 63°F. During a dining observation, a CNA delivering a lunch tray to a resident with significant medical issues—including infection of an amputation stump, osteomyelitis of the right ankle and foot, type 2 DM with hyperglycemia, Parkinson’s disease, recent aspiration pneumonia, and risk for malnutrition—knocked over the resident’s water pitcher, picked it up, and placed it back on the overbed table. When the resident refused the lunch tray and requested a peanut butter sandwich and milk, the CNA dropped the milk carton on the floor, picked it up, and proceeded to give it to the resident, who was observed drinking from it with a straw. A second CNA later brought a replacement milk carton. Multiple staff interviews, including with CNAs, the DON, the Dietary Manager, the District Dietary Manager, the dietitian, and the Administrator, confirmed that facility expectations and staff understanding were that items dropped on the floor should not be used and that food items should be properly labeled, dated, sealed, and discarded per time limits, but these expectations were not followed in the observed instances.

Interviews further clarified that the Dietary Manager, who had completed coursework but not yet taken the certification exam, expected food in storage to be labeled with open and expiration dates, with cooked foods used within three days and open containers in coolers used within seven days. The District Dietary Manager stated that frozen items could be kept 30–60 days after opening, cooked items for three days, and prepared items for seven days unless frozen, and that all items should be properly sealed and labeled. The dietitian reported that she conducted kitchen walkthroughs to check storage areas and remove inappropriate items. CNAs and the DON described proper hand hygiene and tray service procedures, including discarding any item that falls on the floor and sanitizing hands between trays. Despite these stated expectations, the Administrator acknowledged there was no written policy on using items that fall on the floor and personally did not see an issue with a resident consuming a dropped milk carton, indicating that the resident drank the milk through a straw and that he did not view this as problematic. These observations and statements collectively demonstrate failures in food storage, labeling, dating, and sanitary serving practices that did not comply with facility policy and professional standards.