Food Storage, Monitoring, and Temperature Control Deficiencies in Dietary Services
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors identified that the facility failed to store, handle, and monitor food under sanitary conditions in the kitchen and food storage areas. Observations of the main refrigerator showed multiple expired items, including a gallon of Golden Italian dressing, two gallons of lime juice, and a box of thickened apple juice past their labeled expiration dates. In the walk-in refrigerator, surveyors observed four containers of low-fat plain yogurt that were expired, an opened package of ground meat left exposed to air, and a container holding 10 broken and empty eggshells stored together with unbroken, unused eggs. In the dry storage room, an opened package of Nilla Wafers was left exposed to air. A subsequent observation of the walk-in refrigerator revealed six additional gallons of lime juice that were also expired. Surveyors also found that required temperature and maintenance logs for the dish machine PPM, kitchen refrigerator, walk-in refrigerator, and kitchen freezer were not current, with the last entries dated several days before the survey. During interview, the Dietary Manager acknowledged that no foods should be expired, that foods should be stored properly and not exposed to air, and that all kitchen staff were responsible for ensuring proper storage, non-expired foods, and up-to-date logs, but admitted he had fallen behind in updating the logs. When observed taking food temperatures for resident meal service, the Dietary Manager demonstrated uncertainty about acceptable safe food temperatures and stated he was unsure whether the temperatures obtained were safe. The Registered Dietician later stated it was her expectation that the Dietary Manager would know safe food temperatures and that all kitchen logs would be up to date, and that overall responsibility for these areas rested with both herself and the Dietary Manager.
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.