Food Service Sanitation and Hygiene Deficiencies in Dietary Department
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves failure to prepare and serve food under sanitary conditions and in accordance with professional standards. Surveyors observed staff personal items, including a purse and a drink tumbler with a straw, placed on a kitchen prep counter next to undated and unsealed hamburger and hot dog rolls, one bag of which contained rolls with fuzzy green mold. On the same counter, there were unsealed and undated bags of potato chips. Temperature logs for the kitchen refrigerator, walk-in cooler, and walk-in freezer had missing entries on multiple dates, despite expectations that temperatures be recorded at least daily or three times a day. In the kitchen refrigerator, surveyors found wilted lettuce in an unsealed bag, undated opened beef base, undated mustard and relish, unsealed and undated deli meats, and opened honey-thickened liquids dated beyond the manufacturer’s seven-day discard timeframe, along with undated cottage cheese and salsa. In dry storage, surveyors identified a dented can of cheese sauce in the front rotation of canned items, a box of gravy mixes and large cans of apple pie filling stored directly on the floor, and multiple unsealed dry products including rice cereal, spaghetti, and lasagna noodles. In the walk-in cooler, temperature logs again lacked entries for several days, and food items such as celery, wilted lettuce, a bowl of batter covered with foil but not labeled, unsealed sausage patties, a large container of egg salad dated beyond seven days, a loosely covered pastry, and an unlabeled container of meat in brown fluid were observed. In the walk-in freezer, boxes and bags of meat were stored directly on the floor, the internal thermometer was found on the floor, and the cooler and freezer floors contained significant debris that appeared to be old food crumbs. These conditions were inconsistent with facility policies requiring food to be stored off the floor, properly labeled, dated, sealed, and discarded when outdated, wilted, or moldy, and requiring clean storage areas. Additional deficiencies were observed in staff hygiene and food handling practices. One dietary staff member drank coffee in the kitchen and placed the cup on a counter next to an uncovered, ready-to-serve cake, and reported that he routinely drank coffee while working in the kitchen. The same staff member used a single paper towel to wipe a thermometer between multiple food temperature checks and later reported this was his usual practice, despite expectations to properly sanitize the thermometer after each use. He also reheated pureed food in the microwave uncovered, contrary to facility expectations. Another dietary staff member entered the kitchen multiple times without a hairnet before being instructed to put one on, and later acknowledged she should have applied it before entering. These practices conflicted with facility policies on employee hygiene, hair restraint use, prohibition of eating and drinking in food preparation areas, and proper sanitation of equipment and utensils.
We Help Long-Term Care Teams Stay Survey-Ready
We process and analyze inspection reports and plan of correction using AI to extract insights and trends so providers can improve care quality and stay ahead of compliance risks.