During a December 18 inspection, state investigators watched the worker place food containers directly on top of a cutting board and knife at 5:15 PM. Two minutes later, he removed the containers and immediately began chopping vegetables and cooked chicken on the same surfaces without cleaning them.
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 board, served sauce over chicken and vegetables, then returned the container to the heating cart. A minute later, he placed a drinking straw on the same cutting board, filled a cup with liquid food, and inserted the contaminated straw before serving it to a resident.
The worker repeated the pattern at 5:24 PM, again placing the sauce container on the flat surface of the cutting knife, then using that same knife to cut cooked noodles and chicken breast. He scooped the cut food directly onto a resident's plate using the flat surface of the contaminated knife.
Inspectors observed no cleaning or sanitizing of the cutting board and knife during the entire dinner service, which ended at 5:42 PM.
When confronted, the worker defended his actions, saying containers "could have been placed elsewhere on the countertop" but claiming he wasn't cross-contaminating since "everything was cleaned and sanitized prior to use." He admitted the cutting board and knife "could have been" cleaned between uses but said "it is not what he normally does."
The kitchen manager later confirmed the worker should have placed containers on the countertop rather than on cutting surfaces and should have cleaned and sanitized the equipment after each contamination.
The facility also admitted dish drying racks had accumulated dust because staff hadn't cleaned them "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.