Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Magazine - November/December 2023 - 33

ROUTINE
FOOD SAFETY
audits
BY KATHLEEN BRADY, CDM, CFPP, CP-FS
HEALTH INSPECTORS, just like
dietary directors, are front-line public
servants who are on the lookout for
unsafe food. Inspectors conduct
random and unannounced inspections
to check whether employees follow
safe food handling practices, and
ensure that the department has
adequate facilities. This service is
especially important for patients and
residents in eldercare communities.
In this country alone, there are
about 15,600 nursing homes, 31,400
residential care communities, 4,700
hospices, 11,500 home health agencies,
and 4,200 adult day care centers.
Since 70 percent of the people in the
United States who reach the age of
65 will at some point need long-term
care, they will also need safe food to
eat. That's why all these facilities are
subject to food safety inspections.
While it may seem like a tedious
and time-consuming process, these
inspections are conducted to ensure
senior care clients have safe, healthy,
and wholesome food to eat.
Follow along with this example audit
to test your food safety skills in a
senior care facility. Use the Food
Safety Checklist at the end of this
article as you read to mark what you
observe.
FOOD SAFETY AUDIT
EXAMPLE
Inspector Kate Gadgett was scheduled
to conduct a routine health inspection
at the Happy Valley Retirement
Community's Peeke-Inn Restaurant.
The following is a list of her
observations. Identify all the citations
that she found and write a report for
the restaurant management team.
Mark your report so the person in
charge (PIC) knows what violations
were found, and note what must be
done to correct them. Also, Inspector
Kate is not perfect-she made a
mistake or two, and you can note those
as well...
At 1:30 pm on Friday, January 22,
Inspector Kate walked into the PeekeInn
and introduced herself while
flashing her ID badge to the hostess.
She asked for the manager and was
informed that the manager was
not in. The employees were holding
down the fort collectively, and no one
would admit to being " in charge. " The
cashier, who had a runny nose that she
was wiping with the back of her hand,
directed Kate to the kitchen.
Right off the bat, with a quick scan of
the scene, Kate noticed several dirty
towels piled up on the cookline prep
units, a large amount of raw chicken
left out unattended on a cutting board
that was resting on top of a garbage
can, plus all compartments of the
three-compartment sink were piled
high with dirty dishes.
She quickly put her bag down and went
to work, asking where she could wash
her hands because a hand sink was not
seen during her initial view. A server
directed her to a hand sink blocked
with a rolling cart. Kate had to ask for
soap because the soap dispenser was
empty and, while waiting, she noticed
the water wasn't getting very warm.
She quickly checked the temperature-
it was 83˚F.
Once Kate was ready with clean,
dry hands she grabbed her probe
thermometer and started to take
temperatures at the steam table. The
first three items were holding above
140˚F, but the beef with broccoli was
129˚F. She asked one of the line cooks
NUTRITION & F OOD SER VICE EDGE | NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2023 33
Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Magazine - November/December 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Magazine - November/December 2023
