Improper Storage of Food and Drinks in Kitchen: Boxes of supplemental drinks, Gatorade, and green beans were observed on the kitchen and dry storage floors, and one box of supplemental drinks was being used to prop open the kitchen door. An MDS/food service staff member stated the delivery had arrived late, the items had not been put away, and she knew food should not be stored on the floor.
Unsafe food storage and poor dietary hygiene were observed in the kitchen and dining areas. Staff stored multiple foods unlabeled or undated, left opened items improperly handled, and allowed food-contact surfaces and equipment to remain soiled. During meal service, staff wore the same gloves while handling food, utensils, and paperwork, and some staff worked without proper hair nets or beard covers, including a beard cover that did not fully cover a mustache.
Hot foods were not maintained at safe temps during tray prep, holding, and delivery. Meal trays were carried to resident rooms on an uninsulated metal cart or by hand instead of in an insulated cart, and plate covers were sometimes poorly seated with air gaps. On the steam table, foods were left uncovered while staff prepared trays; a waffle tested at 78 degrees F and a sausage patty tested at 108 degrees F. Staff said they did not know the required hot-holding temp and did not routinely check temps, despite the facility policy requiring hot foods to be held at 135 degrees F or greater and kept covered.
Food storage items in the walk-in cooler were found unlabeled, including two sandwich bags of fruit, a gallon jug of salad dressing, and an opened bag of grapes without an opened-on date. An LTC staff member stated opened and repackaged foods should be marked with the food name and use-by date, and the facility policy requires refrigerated or frozen foods to be covered, labeled, and dated.
Food Storage and Dating Deficiencies: The facility failed to discard expired food and failed to properly date, label, and store food in the kitchen dry storage, meat freezer, and vegetable cooler. Expired oatmeal and cream of wheat were found, along with open, undated meat items and lettuce. An LPN stated open items needed to be dated and food discarded by use-by or expiration date, but the items remained present on a later observation.
Surveyors found that kitchen staff failed to properly label and date multiple food items stored in the walk-in cooler, including slimy sliced tomatoes, ground meat, sliced ham, roast beef, cheese, and strawberries. Staff reported that they sometimes picked moldy strawberries out of shipments and that moldy dinner rolls had been served and then collected from residents. These practices did not follow the facility’s written policy requiring labeling, dating, and monitoring of refrigerated foods so they are used by their use-by date or discarded, placing all residents at risk for foodborne illness.
Food items were found opened and undated on kitchen shelving, including oils, spices, oats, cereal, and instant potatoes. The kitchen manager stated staff were responsible for dating opened items and acknowledged that staff did not date food items when they were opened.
Surveyors found that dietary staff preparing and serving food did not wear required beard restraints despite visible facial hair, contrary to facility policy on employee personal hygiene. In addition, review of refrigerator temperature logs showed that two kitchen refrigerators had no recorded twice-daily temperature checks for a two-week period, with notes indicating the logs were lost, in violation of the facility’s policy requiring documented cooler and freezer temperatures to be maintained at or below 41°F.
The facility failed to maintain sanitary kitchen conditions by not ensuring staff with facial hair wore beard coverings while working in the kitchen. An employee with facial hair was observed without a beard cover, and another employee with facial hair was also observed without one and stated he should have been wearing a beard covering. A staff member confirmed that employees with facial hair are required to wear beard coverings, and the facility policy states that beard guards are worn for employees with beards.
Kitchen sanitation and food safety practices were deficient. Surveyors observed a reach-in cooler at 50 degrees, uncovered and undated food items, opened milk and multiple juice containers without labels or dates, and fryer oil, stove surfaces, the oven, and surrounding areas soiled with food debris. A staff member was also observed handling clean trays and dishes with soiled hands during dishwashing without washing hands first.
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