Kitchen at Albuquerque hospital gets red tag after food safety violations

The Presbyterian Hospital near Downtown Albuquerque has now returned to green-tag status after a city inspection found more than a dozen violations in its patient food service kitchen.

According to the City of Albuquerque, the July 15 inspection began after complaints that food was not being served hot.

Inspectors documented 15 violations and issued the facility a red tag. City officials said the kitchen was never forced to shut down and was allowed to continue operating while staff worked to correct the problems on site.

The inspection involved the hospital kitchen that prepares food for patients, not food service for the general public.

Among the most serious issues cited were hot foods being held below the required 135 degrees, including sliced meat, chicken strips and potato wedges measured between 110 and 126 degrees. Inspectors also found cold items above the required 41 degrees, including hummus at 45 degrees and grape jelly at 46 degrees.

The report also listed sanitation and maintenance concerns, including debris buildup on an ice machine and can opener blade, wet-stacked utensils, dirty nonfood-contact surfaces, and buildup on walls and floors throughout the kitchen.

Inspectors also cited plumbing leaks, gaps and cracks in floors and walls, improperly stored wiping cloths, unlabeled bulk spices, and a damaged hot-holding unit door seal.

One violation noted that an employee handled soiled dishes and utensils from patients’ rooms, then put on new gloves and began handling clean utensils without first washing their hands.

Inspectors also reported finding minimal rodent droppings near steam kettles.

Presbyterian pushed back on that allegation in a statement to KOAT, saying, “We maintain a rigorous and regularly scheduled pest control program and found no evidence of pest activity. We dispute that finding.”

Statement from Presbyterian Healthcare Services:

“At Presbyterian, we are committed to maintaining high standards for food safety. We took immediate action to rectify each finding identified during the inspection and the kitchen was allowed to continue normal operations… A healthcare accreditation organization inspected the same day and found no food safety concerns.”

The hospital said it took immediate action to correct every issue identified during the inspection and emphasized that the kitchen remained open during the process.

City officials said the red tag was issued because violations were serious, but because the hospital was actively correcting them while inspectors were on site, the kitchen was not shut down.

The city now says the Presbyterian facility has a green tag.

The City of Albuquerque said it follows Food and Drug Administration Code and local ordinances in enforcing food safety standards.