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Based on observations, interviews and document review, the facility failed to maintain appropriate infection control processes and follow infection control standards in the area of food storage.

These failures created the potential for transmission of health care associated infections to patients receiving care in the facility.

FINDINGS

REFERENCE

Longmont United Hospital Food Storage Guidelines for Cooks cooler C states food will contain date of receipt into department and food will be labeled when opened according to Sodexo's "Food Product Shelf-Life Guideline."

Sodexo Food Safety Policies Food Safety Product Labeling & Dating Guide (07/29/2014) states labels are required when receiving/storing dry or frozen goods: date cartons, cases, boxes, etc, with "date received."

1. The facility failed to ensure food was labeled and dated with expiration or use by dates. Additionally, the facility failed to ensure food was discarded after the expiration date or use by date.

a) On 07/10/17 at 4:32 p.m., a tour was conducted of the dry storage area and patient food cooler with the Food Purchasing Manager and Secretary (Manager #1). On observation of the kitchen, multiple food items were observed improperly stored, including expired food and items without the label, which according to the Food Safety policy, was required to determine the expiration date.

Examples of expired food located in the facility's dry storage area included:
1 bottle of lemon pepper dated 08/18/16
1 bottle ground thyme leaves dated 10/24/15
1 bottle med style ground oregano dated 09/22/16
1 bottle med style ground oregano dated 10/27/16
1 bottle dill weed dated 10/31/16
1 large bag of bulk cheerios with an orange sticker dated 12/19/16

Examples of food located in the facility's dry storage with no label or printed expiration or use by date:
5 unopened boxes of chicken broth packets
4 unopened boxes of beef broth packets
1 opened box of chicken broth packets
2 large bags of bulk bran flakes
1 bottle crushed red pepper
1 bottle ground cloves
1 bottle rosemary leaves
1 bottle rubbed sage
1 bottle ground all spice
1 bottle pepper supreme
4 1 gallon jars sliced dill pickles
2 1 gallon jars of banana peppers

Examples of expired food located in the facility's patient food cooler:
1 sour cream tub with best if used by date of 07/01/17
1 package of Mexican cheese with printed sell by date of 06/05/17. According to the Sodexo food guidelines unopened soft chess was good for one week.

Examples of food located in the facility's patient food cooler with no label or printed expiration or use by date:
2 boxes each containing 59 butter continental chips
1 bag Knorr Ultimate Roasted chicken base
4 bottles of Balsamic Vinaigrette
5 containers of chopped garlic in water

b) On 07/13/17 at 11:21 a.m., an interview was conducted with the Cook and Store Room Clerk (Cook #2) and the Executive Chef (Chef #3). Chef #3 stated the facility followed the Sodexo Food Storage Guidelines. Chef #3 stated the facility's practice was to leave items in the packing case which was labeled with the received date until the items were used, and that any items which did not contain a shipping date should have been labeled when they were received. Chef #3 stated if this was not done, staff were not able to ensure whether food items had expired. Chef #3 stated there was a food safety concern if items were not discarded once they expired. Cook #2 acknowledged there were some food items received the day of the tour which s/he did not have time to label because s/he was working two positions that day.

Chef #3 stated his/her staff conducted "walk thru" inspections twice each day where they looked for expired food. S/he also stated the facility had recently focused on ensuring items located in the kitchen were updated, but had not placed the same focus on the food storage area.

c) On 07/13/17 at 12:20 p.m., an interview was conducted with the Director of Infection Control and Epidemiology (Director #4). S/he stated the facility did not want to use food items beyond their expiration dates and the rule was items should be discarded if expired. Director #4 stated it would have been difficult for staff to have known whether items were expired if they did not have a printed or labeled date. Director #4 stated another concern with items past their shelf life was possible leeching of plastic into food.