You know the untouched left over food items on pt trays>

What actually happens to it?


I'm talking about the prepackaged fruits, puddings, applesauces, juices etc not opened foods. I see mountains of this go back to dietarty. Does it get thrown away if it's not from an isolation room? Actually I'm sure it all gets thrown away but is there a reason to throw unopened prepackaged non-isolation room food away?

I think about the waste if it is tossed and hungry people in shelters and get sad.

Anybody know? Last edit by NanikRN on Mar 16, '11
It does in my hospital. Probably not just in isolation rooms, either. Funny, I can never seem to get a room cleaned when it's desperately needed, yet I had a patient recently who went for dialysis and came back to a completely empty room! They even threw away her get well cards...that was fun to be in the middle of...but I guess that's a whole other discussion. Yes, it is sickening to see how much is wasted in hospitals, especially when admin seems to be pinching pennies on the things we actually need--like employees.

You're right--my guess is all of it gets thrown away at my hospital too. I edited my post to reflect that.My question is why? If it's unopen & prepackaged & non-isolation, wouldn't it be better to donate it? Or am I missing huge infection controll issues

I would think it would HAVE to be thrown away. You just don't know if a patient has touched it or not, after coughing or sneezing, etc. Certainly there is still an issue of infection control.

Yeah I work in LTC and it used to make me mad that a 90 lb resident gets the same amount of food as a 300 lb resident. That's a lot of food thrown away, every single meal!

I used to work in the kitchen of a nursing home, and the policy was that if it was exposed to the resident, it was to be thrown out. You never know if it was touched, if it was even from that day, or how long it had been sitting out without refrigeration.

Quote from DizzyLizzyNurseYeah I work in LTC and it used to make me mad that a 90 lb resident gets the same amount of food as a 300 lb resident. That's a lot of food thrown away, every single meal!

Thrown away. I make sure I ask the pt if they want to save it and give it to thier family that visits.

Even if you were able to safely disinfect everything just in case someone had something contagious I don't think you could send it back to another patients room. Even if you could given that you would have to separate it from the tray, disinfect it, and then redistribute whatever the item it is would slow down a person in the kitchen, cafeteria, or wherever more than you would think. In the long run it would likely lead to more hours needed or more people working a shift. I doubt you would make up for that money in savings even if it went to patients, and you definitely wouldn't if it went somewhere else.

I believe the law in our state is that it is to be thrown away. Too easy for someone to tamper with it and there is no way to know by looking at it if it is safe. Unfortunate, but the risks are too high to do otherwise.

I wonder what happens if you send it back without giving it to the resident? If there is something I know a resident doesn't like I put it on top of the food cart before I give them their tray. I wonder if it gets thrown out anyway.

I know in a restaurant (even McDonald's) they can't give someone food and if they make a mistake give it to someone else. Once someone else touches it, it has to be tossed.

in my experience yes it has to be thrown away for fear of it giving food poisoining. A huge waste yes but you have to be safe.