Unlabeled Food Stored in Kitchen: Food items in the kitchen were observed without required date labels, including turkey, hardboiled eggs, pork ribs, lima beans, and hamburger rolls. The DM confirmed that refrigerated and frozen foods should be dated when opened and stated there was no schedule for checking food for date labels or expired items.
Expired and unlabeled food items were found in kitchen storage, the walk-in cooler, and a nourishment room refrigerator. Surveyors observed expired thickened apple juice, thawed biscuits marked to keep frozen, and multiple unlabeled, undated items including baked beans, diced pears, sandwiches, and resident food and beverages. A CNA reported that night shift kept placing personal items in the refrigerator, and the unlabeled baked beans were later seen being served.
Missing Beard Restraints During Food Prep: Two kitchen staff with facial hair were observed preparing breakfast without beard restraints, although they were wearing head covers. The staff donned facial hair covers only after the surveyor asked about them. The facility policy required appropriate hair restraints, including beard restraints, during food production, and the DM confirmed this requirement.
Improper Food and Ice Storage in Nourishment Room: The facility failed to store and dispense food and ice under sanitary conditions in a second-floor nourishment room. An ice scoop was stored inside the ice chest, and the refrigerator had a broken thermometer, a 48 F temperature reading, expired and unlabeled items, an opened carton of milk, an unidentified milky white liquid in a bottle, eggs past the best-by date, an expired renal supplement, food debris on a shelf, and a gouged door. An LPN and the Dietary Manager confirmed several of these conditions.
Dishwasher Failed to Maintain Required Sanitizing Temperature: The facility failed to ensure the low-temp dishwasher reached the required final rinse temperature for proper sanitization. Observation found the dishwasher at 90 degrees Fahrenheit with sanitizer at 100 ppm, and logs showed repeated low readings for about a month. The CDM said staff documented the issue and notified management, maintenance, and Ecolab, while the Maintenance Director said he knew the dishwasher was not reaching temp and the Administrator said she was only made aware of the problem later.
Kitchen staff failed to keep major equipment clean, with the stove, deep fryer, and two ovens observed with heavy grease and food residue and no cleaning schedule for the ovens or deep fryer. Staff also did not consistently wear proper hair or beard restraints, as a male cook with a beard and a female staff member with exposed hair were observed without adequate coverage. Dietary staff also incorrectly calibrated thermometers and handled food with poor hygiene practices while plating and temping meals.
Surveyors found unsafe food storage and handling practices in the main kitchen and satellite kitchenettes, including opened and undated foods, improper cold storage, gnats in dry storage, poor hair restraint use, and food served at improper temperatures. Staff also failed to accurately monitor and document dishwasher PPM, and multiple dishwashers were observed below required sanitizer levels, including the main kitchen and four kitchenette machines.
Food service sanitation and equipment maintenance deficiencies were identified when kitchen and storage equipment were observed with rust, mold, food debris, and leaks. The handwashing sink lacked a nearby trash receptacle, the walk-in refrigerator floor was rusted from a leaking drainpipe, a reach-in refrigerator had food debris, the ice machine had rust at the hinge, and the walk-in freezer door and surrounding surfaces had mold. Sanitizer readings in the dish area were 100 PPM instead of the expected 200 PPM, and the dish room drain was backing up due to improper drain alignment.
Failure to Date, Label, and Cover Stored Food: Food items in the kitchen were found stored without required dates, labels, or proper covering. An open package of bread in the refrigerator had no date, and multiple frozen items, including waffles, pork ribs, sausage links, and pork chops, were opened and/or exposed without labels or dates. The DS confirmed the findings and stated there was no schedule for checking food dates or expired items.
Failure to Check Hot Food Temps During Meal Service: A DA placed new batches of fried chicken and macaroni and cheese on the tray line and plated them without checking temperatures, despite a facility policy requiring hot and cold food temps to be taken before each meal service. The ADD questioned the DA, who admitted the chicken temp had not been taken, and the Administrator stated that any additional food prepared must also have its temp checked.
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