Unsanitary Kitchenette Conditions and Improper Food Storage
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure food was stored in a safe and sanitary manner and that the kitchenette and related food service areas were maintained in a clean condition, affecting residents on the second floor who used that dining area. Surveyors observed mouse droppings in two cabinets in the kitchenette adjacent to the second-floor dining room, including under the sink and in a cabinet to the left of the sink, along with several mouse traps on the floor and inside the cabinet. Pest control records showed prior findings of mouse droppings in the same kitchenette area and the placement of bait stations, as well as a note advising cleanup of mouse droppings. The Maintenance Director and Housekeeping Supervisor acknowledged there had been a mouse problem and that several mice had been caught. The Dietary Manager confirmed there was no cleaning schedule documenting when the interior of the cabinets was last cleaned and was unsure whether the droppings were new or old, despite facility policy requiring cleanliness and sanitation of dining and food service areas through a written, comprehensive cleaning schedule. The facility also failed to ensure that food stored in the kitchenette refrigerator was properly labeled, dated, and discarded in accordance with policy, which required prepared food brought in by families or visitors to be labeled with content and date, consumed within three days, or disposed of by staff. During inspection of the refrigerator, surveyors found multiple items that were unlabeled, undated, and/or past their best-by or use-by dates, including resident-labeled apple butter, salad dressings, jam, pickles, apple cider, an undated meat and lettuce sandwich, another unlabeled sandwich, and undated cream pie pieces labeled with a resident’s name. The Dietary Manager stated that residents and families use the refrigerator and kitchen items and that it was everyone’s responsibility to ensure items were labeled, dated, and expired items discarded, and confirmed that the observed expired and unlabeled items should have been labeled and/or disposed of.
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