F0812

F

Improper Food Storage, Dishwashing, and Hot Holding Temperatures in Dietary Services

Wilmington, Delaware Survey Completed on 12-13-2025

Penalty

Fine: $8,278

Summary

Surveyors identified deficiencies in the facility’s food storage practices in the walk-in refrigerator and freezer. Policy required all refrigerated and frozen foods to be covered, labeled, and dated with a use-by date, and for food to be received and stored according to safe food handling practices. During observation with the Dietary Director (DD), multiple items in the walk-in refrigerator were found without labels or dates, including opened horseradish sauce, minced garlic, chocolate syrup, leftover cooked carrots, and parsley. Employee water was stored on a shelf with resident food. Several items were spoiled or past the manufacturer’s best-by date, including flour tortillas, bell peppers with mold, celery that was brown and soft in brown liquid, and a box of tomatoes that were soft/mushy with mold. Cracked eggs were stored on a flat with other eggs, exposing contents onto surrounding eggs, and an opened box of yellow cake mix was left exposed to air. In the freezer, a bag of frozen omelets was stored open to air without being sealed or dated.

Additional deficiencies were found in dishwashing machine use and monitoring. Facility policy required hot-water dish machines to maintain specific wash and rinse temperatures, and for the operator to check and record temperatures with each cycle, reporting inadequate temperatures immediately. During observation of Dietary Aide (DA) #10 operating the dish machine, the wash temperature registered only 118°F and the final rinse showed a “Probe Error, Final Rinse” message, with no temperature reading. DA #10 stated he did not check dish machine temperatures before or during the wash cycle and did not report the probe error to the DD. The DD later stated he was unaware of the probe error because it had not been reported, and that staff were expected to monitor wash and rinse temperatures and report concerns.

Surveyors also found deficiencies in hot food holding on the tray line. Facility policy required hot foods to be held at 135°F or greater. During observation of the lunch tray line, the pureed green beans measured 111°F and the mechanically chopped pork measured between 127°F and 131°F, both below the required holding temperature. Staff member #11 acknowledged that hot foods should be held at 135°F or higher and noted that the hot holding unit typically had a thermometer for monitoring, but at the time of observation there was no thermometer in the unit. The DD confirmed that hot foods should be held at or above 135°F and that the thermometer used to monitor the hot holding unit temperature was not inside the unit, stating he had last seen it there a few days earlier.