Hot Temp Dish Sanitation (Arizona)

During an initial tour of the dietary department by state surveyors, they reviewed the hot temperature dish machine service records. During this review, the surveyors discovered documentation that stated the final rinse temperature was 160°F. A hot temperature machine should have a final rinse temperature of at least 180°F. Because of this discrepancy, the surveyor assumed that the dish machine was therefore a cold temperature dish machine, which would require chlorine to be added as part of its final rinse cycle and documented each shift as 50-100ppm (parts per million). There was not any documentation of the addition of a chemical sanitizer.

The surveyors questioned the Crandall RD about the missing documentation and if test strips were being used to verify appropriate sanitization levels were being reached. The dietitian explained the final rinse dial was not working for the hot temperature machine, therefore they were measuring the surface temperature of the dishes after the cycle was complete—160°F was the surface temperature of the dishes, not the actual final rinse water temperature. They further explained that for the surface temperature to reach 160°F, the final rinse water temperature had to be at least 180°F. The dietitian had the representative, who services the dish machine, come into the facility and validate what the dietitian had said. Also, the dietitian showed the surveyor that a dial for the final rinse temperature had previously been ordered. The facility did not receive a dietary tag.