Unsafe food handling and kitchen sanitation practices were observed in the dining room and main kitchen. Staff handled ready-to-eat foods with bare hands, failed to wash hands between tasks and after bathroom use, and touched food, dishes, and meal tickets while plating and serving meals. The facility also kept moldy croissants in dry storage, used a pencil to prop up a hood drip pan, and allowed a dietary aide with artificial nails and multiple bracelets to serve residents.
The facility failed to maintain and document safe food temperatures during meal service, resulting in cold foods being held and served within the temperature danger zone and incomplete temperature logs on multiple days. During a lunch service observation, various forms of chicken salad were held at 45–55°F, yet plates were assembled and sent out, and a resident reported that meals delivered to the room were always cold and often not eaten. Staff interviews showed inconsistent understanding of required hot and cold holding temperatures and confirmed that temperature logs were sometimes not completed as required.
Staff failed to follow required food-handling and hand hygiene practices during a dinner meal service, repeatedly touching ready-to-eat items such as hot dog buns with bare hands after handling meal tickets, countertops, wet towels, trays, plates, utensils, and their clothing, and then assembling meatball sandwiches and other plates placed on trays and in meal carts for residents. Although staff later reported awareness that bread and buns should not be handled with bare hands and that gloves or utensils should be used for ready-to-eat foods, observations showed inconsistent handwashing and lack of glove use while preparing and serving these foods.
Improper Hand Hygiene and Glove Use During Meal Service: During meal service, a cook and the DM repeatedly handled food, clean dishware, utensils, and high-touch surfaces with the same gloves without changing them or performing hand hygiene. Staff were observed plating food, retrieving items from the refrigerator, and touching the eating surfaces of plates and sandwiches with gloved hands, while interviews confirmed they knew gloves should be changed after touching surfaces and before handling food.
Dishwashing Room Not Maintained in Good Repair: Surveyors found the facility’s dishwashing room was not maintained in accordance with food service safety standards. Observations included chipped paint, debris and lint on vent covers, a partially unpainted wall, dusty ceiling pipes, torn floor laminate, a separated baseboard, and dirt and debris on the floor. The NHA said he was not aware of the issues, and the RD said she had not submitted any work orders.
Improper glove use during food preparation. A cook and the regional dietary supervisor were observed handling ready-to-eat foods in the kitchen without changing gloves or performing hand hygiene between tasks. The cook prepared a PB&J sandwich, dinner rolls, and hamburgers while touching utensils, refrigerator doors, packaging, and multiple food items with the same gloves. The regional dietary supervisor also handled packaged lettuce, boiled eggs, ham, and salad ingredients with the same gloves while assembling chef salads.
Surveyors found that the facility failed to maintain sanitary conditions in the main kitchen and to properly store and label food. Walls near food prep areas were splattered and unclean, dishwasher racks had embedded black residue and buildup, and "clean" pans and bins were stacked wet on the drying rack. Food debris and heavy grease were present around the stove, uncovered grease-filled coffee tins were stored under a kitchen sink, and dust and debris had accumulated along pipes, baseboards, and behind the ice machine. In food storage areas, a spoiled bag of cabbage and expired chocolate milk were found, contrary to professional standards and the facility’s own policies for cleaning, dating, and labeling food.
Kitchen staff failed to properly clean food thermometers before and after use, instead using an incorrect method involving alcohol wipes and their packaging, which did not meet professional standards or facility policy. Both the cook and dietary manager demonstrated and confirmed this improper cleaning technique during interviews.
The facility did not procure food from approved or satisfactory sources and failed to store, prepare, distribute, and serve food according to professional standards.
Staff failed to follow sanitary food handling practices by using the same gloves to touch both ready-to-eat foods and non-food items without changing gloves or performing hand hygiene, and by wiping food residue from gloves onto food contact surfaces. Additionally, mold was observed on the floor of the walk-in refrigerator and on baking sheets used for food storage, with the mold on the floor persisting over several days despite staff awareness.
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