Failure to Follow Puree Recipe and Maintain Safe Food Temperatures
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors identified a deficiency related to food preparation and service temperatures. During observation of meal preparation, a dietary staff member added tap water to green beans while pureeing them, despite the facility’s recipe specifying that, if thinning was needed, staff should gradually add an appropriate hot liquid such as broth, gravy, milk, or reserved cooking liquid. This deviation from the recipe altered the nutritive content of the pureed green beans. The facility’s written recipe and procedures did not authorize the use of tap water for this purpose. Additional observations showed that staff did not consistently ensure hot and cold foods were served at safe and appetizing temperatures. Pureed spaghetti delivered to the dining room was measured at 127°F, and a plated hall tray of cooked spaghetti delivered to a resident’s room was measured at 130°F, both below the facility’s required hot holding/serving temperature of 135°F or higher. The Italian tossed salad on the same tray was measured at 52°F, above the required cold holding/serving temperature of 41°F or below. A resident reported that food served to their room was not hot but “kind of warm.” One dietary staff member stated they do not obtain temperatures on cooked food or cooked pureed food before sending it to the dining room, while another dietary staff member acknowledged the facility’s expectations that hot foods be maintained at 135°F or above and cold foods at 41°F or below, as outlined in the facility’s 2020 Monitoring Food Temperatures for Meal Service policy.
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