Facility staff failed to follow professional standards for food storage, preparation, and sanitation in the kitchen and on a resident hallway. Surveyors observed dirty food-contact equipment, improperly stored dry goods, and wet pans stacked and dripping in clean storage areas. Hot foods were held and served below the facility’s stated minimum of 135°F. Expired milk cartons were placed on breakfast trays and in the milk supply on a hallway, with both dietary and nursing staff not identifying the out-of-date product. In the kitchen, a pizza cutter that had fallen to the floor and other utensils, trays, and dome lids were inadequately sanitized, with submersion times far below the one-minute contact time required by the sanitizer manufacturer, and some items not fully submerged. A dietary staff member also used a soiled utility cart and contaminated gloves to handle both dirty and clean dishware without cleaning the cart between uses, contrary to facility policy.
Surveyors found that kitchen staff failed to follow facility policies requiring all refrigerated foods to be covered, labeled, dated, and used within specified time frames. During a kitchen tour, they observed uncovered and undated cucumbers with white spots, cut green and red peppers with visible white spots and older storage dates, undated butter in an open wrapper, and pork chops leaking into a wet cardboard box. The Regional District Dietary Supervisor confirmed these findings, acknowledged that products should have been used before expiration, and stated there was no procedure or schedule for dietary staff to routinely check stored foods’ expiration dates, despite written policies and a food storage and retention guide specifying proper storage and time limits for animal, plant, and dairy products.
Dietary staff failed to remove expired food from the main kitchen walk‑in freezer, where surveyors observed a case of Dannon yogurt stored past its labeled expiration date. During the observation, the dietary manager acknowledged the yogurt was expired and could not explain how it had been missed. Facility policy required all food to be stored, labeled, and dated to ensure freshness and mandated weekly storage inspections by the dietary manager, but the expired yogurt remained in the freezer despite these requirements.
Unsafe Food Storage and Utensil Handling in Kitchen: The kitchen had a carton of thickened apple juice with a use-by date in dry storage, stacked meatloaf pans with visible debris, steam tray pans with visible moisture on the outside, and a thickener bin with a scoop resting inside the product. The FSD stated the vendor-sent juice should have been rejected and that the scoop should be stored on top of the bin rather than inside the thickener.
Unsanitary Dishwashing and Food Handling Practices: Dietary staff ran dish racks through an automatic dishwasher with a broken temperature gauge and did not verify wash temperature with a waterproof thermometer. Wet steam table pans were stacked after the cycle, and a dietary staff member later served lunch while wearing gloves that repeatedly contacted multiple surfaces and foods without changing gloves or sanitizing hands.
Improper Storage of Refrigerated Food: During a kitchen observation, a two-gallon zip lock bag of fish in the walk-in refrigerator was found unsealed. The cook sealed the bag during the observation and stated that refrigerated food should be kept in sealed containers. The facility policy requires all food and leftovers to be stored in covered, approved, food grade containers.
Dish machine wash and rinse temperatures were not maintained at the proper level to sanitize dishes. Observations showed conflicting temperature readings on the machine gauge, a wall-mounted monitor, and internal thermometers, and the EC verified the water temperatures were not reaching the proper temperature. The EC also reported that prior temperature logs could not be located, and the Sous Chef responsible for recording the readings was not available and not on the schedule.
Food storage, labeling, and hand hygiene failures were observed in the kitchen and all 4 unit nutrition rooms. Surveyors found expired and improperly stored food, unlabeled and undated prepared items, dirty refrigeration equipment, and food kept under unsanitary conditions. Dietary staff were also observed entering the kitchen without hair restraints or beard nets, and a cook changed gloves and handled food without performing hand hygiene.
Food storage practices in the main kitchen were not followed when multiple opened dry goods and refrigerated items were found without open or use-by labels. Surveyors also observed leftover food in the walk-in refrigerator without dating and an expired gallon of milk accessible for distribution. Dietary staff acknowledged that opened items and expired foods should be labeled or discarded, and the facility policy required opened and leftover food to be clearly labeled and dated.
Sanitary Food Handling and Equipment Cleaning Deficiencies: Surveyors observed kitchen aides placing resident lunch trays while one aide was not wearing a hair net and another did not have his mustache covered. They also found prepared food items in refrigerators without dates and a food processor with leftover food debris, while the dietary manager stated hair restraints should always be worn, food should be dated, and equipment should be checked after washing to ensure it was clean.
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