Cedarwood Plaza: Kitchen Sanitation Failures Found - OH
That was the state of Cedarwood Plaza's kitchen when an inspector walked through it on the morning of August 30, 2025.
The undated food was only the beginning. Inside the walk-in freezer, a box of beef slabs had been opened and left that way, the slabs sitting directly on the cardboard rather than inside any bag or container. The beef showed what the inspection report described as significant freezer burn. Nearby, a bag of cookie dough bites sat open to the air.
The dietary aide working that morning, identified in the report as DA #750, confirmed every finding on the spot.
Out on the kitchen floor, the six-burner cooktop had a thick layer of black food buildup around each burner and underneath them. The microwave, used to heat and defrost food served to residents, was covered in brown residue. Light fixtures throughout the kitchen held dust, debris, and dead bugs.
The inspection was conducted in response to a complaint, logged under Complaint Number 2569014. The deficiency was cited at a level of minimal harm or potential for actual harm, with the potential to affect all 104 residents living at the facility.
Cedarwood Plaza's own written policy on food preparation and storage states that food items will be prepared to conserve maximum nutritive value, develop and enhance flavor, and keep free of harmful organisms and substances. The policy carries no date.
Undated food is a specific hazard in institutional kitchens. Without date labels, staff have no way to determine whether stored food has exceeded safe holding times, meaning spoiled or contaminated items can move from the cooler to a resident's plate with no checkpoint to catch them. For elderly residents, many of whom have weakened immune systems or underlying conditions, foodborne illness carries risks far more serious than it would for a younger, healthier person.
The open beef slabs on cardboard tell a similar story. Cardboard is porous and difficult to sanitize. Meat resting directly on it, uncovered, is exposed to whatever the cardboard has absorbed and to anything else in the freezer. The freezer burn visible on the slabs means the exposure had been going on long enough to degrade the meat's surface.
A microwave described as "extremely dirty" with brown residue "all over it" is not a minor housekeeping lapse in this context. It is the piece of equipment used to prepare food that goes directly to residents. Whatever that residue was, it was being heated alongside residents' meals every time the microwave ran.
The light fixtures with dead bugs and debris overhead complete a picture of a kitchen where cleaning had fallen behind not in one corner or one piece of equipment, but across the room, from the ceiling fixtures down to the stovetop grates.
Cedarwood Plaza is located at 12504 Cedar Road in Cleveland Heights.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Cedarwood Plaza from 2025-08-30 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
Additional Resources
Data source: Official federal inspection data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Editorial process: AI-synthesized regulatory data, reviewed for accuracy by our editorial team.
Professional review: All content reviewed by Christopher F. Nesbitt, Sr., NH EMT & BU-trained Paralegal.
Last verified: August 4, 2026 · Our methodology
CEDARWOOD PLAZA in CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH was cited for violations during a health inspection on August 30, 2025.
That was the state of Cedarwood Plaza's kitchen when an inspector walked through it on the morning of August 30, 2025.
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.