Improper Stacking and Handling of Uncovered Food During Meal Preparation
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors identified a deficiency in food handling practices when staff failed to transport and handle food in accordance with professional standards and facility policy. During observation, an assistant dietary manager retrieved chocolate gooey cake from the walk-in refrigerator where it was stored in styrofoam bowls covered with clear plastic wrap on trays. The staff member then removed the bowls from the trays and stacked two uncovered cakes in one hand and three uncovered cakes in the other, with the bottoms of the bowls directly contacting the exposed food surfaces as they were carried to the preparation table. The cakes were then processed to the appropriate pureed consistency and returned to styrofoam bowls using an appropriate scoop. The assistant dietary manager later acknowledged that the cakes should not have been stacked without a protective cover between each bowl and that the outside of the bowls should not have come into contact with the food. The certified dietary manager confirmed that food should not be stacked in this manner and that, if stacking occurs, the food should be covered with a lid or plastic wrap to prevent contamination. Review of the facility’s undated “Meal Preparation” policy showed it required food to be prepared, handled, and stacked in a manner that maintains food safety, prevents contamination, and complies with Iowa Food and Drug Code requirements, including that stacking must not compromise hygiene. The observed practice of stacking uncovered bowls of cake during preparation did not comply with these standards.
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