Improper Food Storage, Labeling, and Kitchen Sanitation Practices
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors identified a deficiency in the facility’s food service operations related to failure to follow its own Labeling and Dating and Food Policy and cleaning practices. During a kitchen tour with the Dietary Manager, an opened five‑pound tub of cottage cheese was found in a three‑door refrigerator, one‑quarter full, undated, and past its printed expiration date. Three gallon‑sized plastic bags of thawed, pre‑cooked chicken and a gallon bag of thawed, pre‑cooked hamburger patties were stored without dates, and two boxes of waffles labeled by the manufacturer to be kept frozen were observed thawed and undated in the refrigerator. On a preparation table next to the stove, a plate containing a piece of ham and two pancakes covered in plastic wrap was undated, and on a dry storage rack, an opened, half‑full 24‑ounce container of gravy mix powder was undated. The Dietary Manager confirmed that these items should have been labeled and dated in accordance with the facility’s policy and that the expired cottage cheese should have been discarded. Additional deficiencies were observed in equipment maintenance and environmental cleanliness in the kitchen. In the kitchen freezer, the thermometer registered 42°F, and the Dietary Manager stated the unit had failed that morning and that maintenance had been notified, further acknowledging that the freezer should have been taken out of service and that three sealed, undated packages of bologna found thawed in the freezer should have been discarded. During drink preparation, surveyors observed a heavy accumulation of black, stringy dust hanging from a ceiling vent and surrounding tiles directly over an uncovered prepared beverage area. The Dietary Manager verified the presence of the black dust on the ceiling vent and tiles and stated that Maintenance was responsible for cleaning the kitchen ceiling and vents and had been aware of the condition. The facility’s CMS LTC application documented that 110 residents resided in the facility at the time of the survey.
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