Uncovered Desserts and Lack of Hair Restraints in Dietary Services
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves failure to follow food safety and dress code standards in the dietary department, specifically related to uncovered food during transport and lack of required hair restraints in the kitchen. Surveyors observed a dietary aide transporting two carts of resident meal trays to the memory care unit, with multiple trays containing uncovered sweet potato pie desserts that were exposed to air. The facility’s own policies, as well as the 2022 FDA Food Code, require food to be stored and transported in covered containers or wrappings to protect it from cross-contamination. Surveyors also observed dietary management staff in the kitchen area without required hairnets and without performing hand hygiene upon entering the kitchen. One Dietary Manager walked across the kitchen without a hairnet to assist a staff member, then re-entered the kitchen, did not wash her hands, and retrieved orange juice and milk. In an interview, this manager acknowledged having a hairnet but stated she forgot to put it on and did not wash her hands, explaining that she was in and out of the kitchen frequently and did not touch food. On another occasion, a different Dietary Manager entered the kitchen, approached the steam table, accepted a plate of food from a dietary cook, and placed it on a tray while not wearing a hairnet. These actions were inconsistent with the facility’s Nutritional Services Department Dress Code, which requires hair restraints to prevent hair from contacting exposed food and related items.
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