Woodland Care Center: Food Safety Violations Found - CA
When a federal inspector walked into the room at 9:09 a.m. on April 7, the plastic bag sat on top of the resident's over-bed table, two Styrofoam containers inside, no date on anything, no name, no indication of when the food had been made or how long it had been sitting.
The resident, identified in inspection records as Resident 96, was 77 years old at the time of her January 2025 admission. She had been admitted with weakness and a history of falling. Her cognitive skills for daily decision making were recorded as intact. She needed staff assistance for toileting, showering, dressing her lower body, and putting on and taking off her footwear. She knew exactly what was in the bag and told the inspector without hesitation. What she didn't know, and had no reason to know, was that nobody had followed the facility's own procedure for handling it.
The facility's policy on food brought in from outside required staff to label items with the resident's name, the current date, and a use-by date. Items were to be thrown out after 72 hours. None of that had happened.
The Director of Staff Development confirmed it standing at the resident's bedside at 9:23 that same morning. The bag wasn't dated. It wasn't labeled with any identifier. The director acknowledged that residents eating leftover food past its use-by date faced the risk of foodborne illness. The director did not dispute that the food had been handled incorrectly.
The nursing assistant who stored the food the night before is not named in the inspection report. Neither is anyone else who might have seen the bag and moved on.
That finding was not the only food safety problem inspectors documented during the April 11 survey. The inspection report also cited the facility for allowing food handlers to wear jewelry, including items on their wrists and hands, while preparing food. The 2022 Food Code reviewed by inspectors permits only a plain ring, such as a wedding band, during food preparation. Watches, bracelets, smart watches, fitness trackers, and medical alert bracelets are prohibited on wrists and hands. The report does not specify which staff members were observed wearing prohibited items or on how many occasions.
Taken together, the two violations point to a kitchen and a care floor where basic food handling protocols were not being followed consistently, not as a matter of ignorance but as a matter of practice. The facility's own written policy spelled out what was supposed to happen with outside food. Staff had been trained on it. The last review date on that policy was January 16, 2025, less than three months before the inspection.
The inspection report classifies both findings at the lowest level of harm, with potential for actual harm to some residents. That classification reflects the absence of documented injury, not the absence of risk. Foodborne illness in elderly residents with weakened immune systems and multiple underlying conditions can escalate quickly.
Resident 96 told the inspector she had already eaten the burritos the night before and had the leftovers brought back that morning. The inspection report does not say whether she ate from the bag again after the inspector arrived, or whether anyone removed it.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Woodland Care Center from 2025-04-11 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
Additional Resources
Data source: This article is based on inspection data downloaded directly from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) via Medicare.gov. CMS releases inspection reports in bulk; we publish the findings as documented by state surveyors in the official Form CMS-2567 Statement of Deficiencies.
Plan of correction: The CMS report we receive does not include the facility's plan of correction. Facilities submit plans of correction separately to state survey agencies and those responses may not be reflected in CMS data at the time of publication. The absence of a plan of correction in our data does not mean one was not filed. Readers who want information about corrective steps taken are encouraged to contact the facility directly or their state survey agency.
Corrections may have occurred: Inspection reports reflect conditions observed on the date of the survey. Facilities may have implemented corrections, staffing changes, additional training, or other remediation since the report was issued. We report what CMS provides and encourage readers to seek current information from the facility.
Editorial process: Inspection findings are extracted from CMS source documents and synthesized using AI, reviewed for factual accuracy against the original report by our editorial team.
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Last verified: October 30, 2026 · Our methodology
WOODLAND CARE CENTER in RESEDA, CA was cited for violations during a health inspection on April 11, 2025.
When a federal inspector walked into the room at 9:09 a.m.
Health inspections identify deficiencies that facilities must correct. Violations range from minor documentation issues to serious safety concerns. Review the full report below for specific details and facility response.