During dinner service on December 18, inspectors watched the worker place food containers on top of a cutting board and knife, then immediately use the same unwashed surfaces to chop vegetables and chicken for residents requiring mechanically chopped diets.
The worker placed a sauce container back onto the cutting knife lying on the cutting board, served sauce on top of the chicken and vegetables, then returned the container to the heating cart. He never cleaned the cutting board or knife.
Minutes later, the same worker placed a drinking straw on the contaminated cutting board, filled a cup with liquid food, and inserted the straw into the cup before serving it to a resident.
The pattern continued throughout dinner service. The worker placed the sauce container from the heating cart back on the flat surface of the cutting knife, used the same unwashed knife to cut cooked noodles and chicken breast, then used the knife's flat surface to scoop the food onto a resident's plate.
Inspectors observed no cleaning or sanitizing of the cutting board and knife during the entire 42-minute dinner service.
When questioned afterward, the kitchen worker said the containers were cleaned before use and claimed he didn't believe he was cross-contaminating food contact surfaces. Asked if the cutting board and knife should have been cleaned between uses when containers were placed on them, he said "they could have been, but it is not what he normally does."
The facility's Kitchen Manager later confirmed the worker should have placed containers on the countertop instead of on cutting boards and knives, and that all surfaces should have been cleaned and sanitized after holding food containers.
Inspectors also found dish drying racks covered in dust, which staff admitted they hadn't cleaned in "some time."
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.