Food Service and Nutrition
(i) Assisted Living Facilities that choose to admit residents who need
therapeutic or mechanically modified diets must employ or contract with a Registered Dietitian
who shall approve written menus and dietary modifications, approve special diet needs, plan
individual diets, and provide guidance to dietary staff in areas of preparation, service, and
monitoring. The frequency of visits is determined by the residents’ needs and the competency of
the dietary staff but must include at least a monthly onsite review of dietary services.
(ii) There must be an organized dietetic service that meets the daily nutritional
needs of residents and ensures that food is stored, prepared, distributed, and served in a manner
that is safe, wholesome, and sanitary in accordance with the rules. The dietetic service must
ensure that food prepared is nutritionally adequate in accordance with the Dietary Reference
Intakes (DRI) for adults.
(iii) Foodservice supervision:
(A) Day to day responsibilities for food production and management of
the dietary services shall be assigned to a person with nutrition and foodservice management
experience equivalent to that of a Certified Dietary Manager.
(iv) A minimum of three meals in a twenty-four (24) hour period shall be
provided to each resident during normal dining hours. In addition, meals and between-meal
snacks shall be palatable, attractive in appearance, consist of a variety of foods, and shall be
served at the proper temperature.
(A) Menus shall be planned based on recognized national dietary
standards recommended by a Registered Dietitian. Menus shall be prepared at least two weeks
in advance and posted in the kitchen. Reasonable substitutions of similar nutritive value must be
available to residents who refuse or/are unable to eat the food served. The daily menus shall be
corrected to show the food actually served, and the corrected copy kept on file and available for
inspection for one (1) year. A current diet manual shall be approved by the Registered Dietitian,
and sufficient copies of the approved manual must be available to dietary and nursing staff in the
assisted living facility.(v) Individuals with food preparation responsibilities shall be in good health
and shall practice safe food handling techniques in accordance with the current edition of Food
Code published by the U.S. Public Health Service, Food and Drug Administration.
(vi) The kitchen and dining area shall be kept clean and sanitary in accordance
with standards established in the current edition of FDA Food Code. The dining area shall
provide suitable furniture and adequate space to comfortably seat all residents.
(vii) There shall be enough food on hand to meet at least one (1) week’s menu.
(viii) Cleaning and sanitizing of dishes and silverware shall be done by
automatic dishwashers.
(ix) Persons handling soiled tableware and/or silverware shall wash their
hands before handling clean ware.
(x) No fly strips shall be allowed in the kitchen or dining area.