During dinner service on December 18, inspectors watched as the worker placed food containers on top of a cutting board and knife being used to chop vegetables and chicken for residents requiring mechanically altered diets. The worker then removed the containers and continued chopping without sanitizing the cutting board or knife.
The contamination continued throughout the 27-minute dinner preparation. At 5:19 PM, the worker placed a sauce container back onto the cutting knife lying on the cutting board, served sauce on top of prepared food, then returned the container to the heating cart. Minutes later, he placed a drinking straw on the same unwashed cutting board, filled a cup with liquid food, and served it to a resident.
The worker used the flat surface of the contaminated knife to scoop cut chicken and noodles directly onto resident plates. No cleaning or sanitization of the cutting board and knife occurred during the entire tray line service, which ended at 5:42 PM.
When confronted, the kitchen worker acknowledged the containers "could have been placed elsewhere on the countertop" but said he didn't believe he was cross-contaminating surfaces since everything was cleaned before use. He admitted the cutting board and knife "could have been" cleaned between uses when containers were placed on them, "but it is not what he normally does."
The facility's Kitchen Manager confirmed the next day that containers should have been placed on countertops, not on cutting boards and knives, and that all surfaces should have been cleaned and sanitized after contact with food containers.
Inspectors also found dish drying racks covered in dust that hadn't been cleaned "in some time" as staff worked through refrigerator racks first.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Terraces of Boise, The from 2025-12-19 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.