Food Safety While Eating Out

[mike243]

The wife and I are on vacation this week, stopped yesterday to get a quick bite at the local Waffle House, was watching and waiting for our food to get cooked when I started watching the cook. Noticed she was wearing the prescribed gloves but raw meats to the griddle then move over and make toast. I seen this about the time she grabbed wife's chicken out of the fridge and got 2 sliced of raisin bread for toast, didn't wipe hands or change gloves. I called the waiter over and told him we didn't want to eat there because of the unsafe cooking practices, I swear if they do this stuff out in the open what do they do behind closed doors? ,all the other folks just looked at us like we were crazy, I am not a hypochondriac but dang lets use some common sense, anybody else ever have that happen? until more folks speak up its going to continue imo

 

[chopsaw]

Yup , was sitting at a Bob Evans waiting for my breakfast . Watched the server sneeze , then wipe her nose with her hand , wipe her hand on her pants , then pic a plate and serve a guy . I got up and walked out .

 

[chef jimmyj]

I have been an Opponent of wearing gloves for years! Wearing gloves gives workers a false sense of security. As if gloves sanitize themselves between operations. Before gloves were required, you washed your hands and go to work. You make Toast and just brush off the crumbs. You prep Salad and your hands feel wet, you dry them with your clean side towel. But handle Chicken Breast and you FEEL the goo and sticky juices on your hands. That feels nasty and you can't help but want to stop and wash to get that stuff off.
Put on Gloves because you were told they are, " More Sanitary..." and you move from one job to another not thinking about your hands because they Feel Clean.
The only time I wear gloves is to work with Ground Meat, like sausage, because it sticks so bad to your bare hands. I also wash frequently and before moving from food that will be cooked to food that won't...JJ

 

[noboundaries]

We rarely eat out anymore, and safe food handling is a one reason. Buffets just give me the willys. Unfortunately, two groups we belong to only hold meetings where there is only buffet service. First, you don't know if the food was prepared safely, and second, a bunch of people ……. crap, I can't continue typing. I think I'm going to make myself sick. I always try to be first in line for obvious reasons.

 

[chef jimmyj]

In general, MOST restaurant Owners, Chefs and Staff, take great pride in running Clean and Safe operations. You don't make Money, Grossing folks out or making People Sick!!!
That said STUFF happens. The highest rated restaurant in York PA, at the Yorktown Hotel had a Check average of $100 per person and DOUBLE that if you had the Wine that went with each course. Bring located in an old city, they had common access Utilities. Mice, Rats and Roaches were unavoidable and cost a fortune in Exterminator fees to just Limit them, forget manage or outright eliminate the problem! They did their best to keep the Pests out of the Kitchen and Especially the Dinning Rooms. But every once in awhile a Critter would find it's way into a Dinning Room and customers would freak out.
The cleanest well managed operations will have Pest control issues from time to time because, Distributors have pests, and Warehouses have pests and Processors have pests and Growers and Farms have pests. You think the Restaurants you go to have Issues! BUDDY, Don't EVER go behind the Swinging Doors at your Favorite GROCERY STORE!!! I worked in the Grocery Biz in my Teens and Managed a Grocery Deli Dept later in life. At least most Restaurant Workers are required to be trained in Sanitation and Food Safety. There ain't No Such Thing for Grocery Workers beyond limited training for managers. Add that most of the Grocery Staff are Kids who could care less about cleaning or sanitation or part time adults whom may have too limited an education to work better paying jobs and you got a breeding ground for Rodents, Insects and Bacteria. Restaurants are the Operating Room at the Mayo Clinic compared to MOST Grocery Chains!!!
There is a reason a Cryovac Packed Pork Loin stays Fresh in your refer for 2-3 weeks but the Grocery Store's Hand Cut Pork Chops are Rotten 2-3 DAYS after you bring them home!
Obviously dirty Restaurants or Fast Food places with employees handle everything from making your Sandwich to taking your Money with the same Gloves On, are to be avoided.
Unless you Grow, Process, Store and Cook your Own Food. Restaurants and Grocery Stores are a reality. Of the places you choose or are forced to go, follow a few Suggestions from a Guy that HAS spent time Behind The Curtain...NEVER eat from Salad Bars, Restaurant or Grocery. Choose food from Full Trays at Buffets. Look to see Steam rising around the pans on the Steam Table or leave. Choose Hot Appetizers and Entrees that Don't contain CHICKEN. Get Friendly with the Deli, Seafood, Meat Managers and workers at your Grocery Store. They will Point you tward the Freshest and best Handled product that day. Buy Producer Vac-packed or Modified Atmosphere Packaged fresh foods. These are the least handled food items. Buy Deli Meats and Cheeses that are On Sale and Commonly eaten! They were brought in for the Sale and Move Fast. Oddball Sale items like Mac & Cheese Loaf is likely on sale to get rid of it. Beyond that, you will make yourself Crazy worrying about what may or may not even be a problem. Hope for the Best and Ignore the Rest!...JJ

 

[banderson7474]

I haven't been to my local waffle house since wife and I were sitting and a roach climbed up on the booth. I thought wow if a roach is brave enough to do that with a full house in the day, imagine at night. We left and didn't pay.

 

[bluewhisper]

Good points, cjj - one thing I'd add about cryovacs is, before I open them I wash them like I wash my hands - no telling what the outside of the plastic has come into contact with.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Sneezing, coughing, dirty hands, dirty equipment, flies landing on food, roaches walking on food, rats, mice, Salmonella on Chicken, E-Coli 0157 on meat and vegetables...All is a reality and unavoidable.
Stick to Cooked Meat and Vegetables and let your Immune System handle the rest.
I trust going to a nice Restaurant over some of my Neighbors, a Family Picnic or Church Pot Luck! Hell, Mom and Grandma kept an Immaculate Clean House. You literally could Eat off the Toilet Seat as she kept Clorox Wipes on the counter to clean after every use. But they didn't know a thing about Food Safety. Open the refer and there might a pack of Raw Chicken sitting on top of the Celery and Carrots! Fresh Cold Cuts in the Front of the Drawer but pull it out further and the SCIENCE EXPERIMENT sitting in a pool of Toxic Waste, would like make EBOLA look like the Sniffles! You Hear about food poisoning or inspection ratings related to Restaurants on the News or Online, and some let this effect their opinion of all restaurants. But if a whole Family wakes up sick, it's chalked up to a Stomach Bug going around and nobody hears about it. Including the folks invited to dinner on the weekend.
NO...No member of my immediate or extended family ever got sick from Mom's or Grandma's cookin'. And, in 56 years, I only got sick from eating at One, new for me, Pizza joint and they were shut down a week later. Just keep your Eyes Open and look around and leave if things don't look right. But there are plenty of great places to eat and don't make yourself crazy thinking about what Might Be...JJ

 

[indaswamp]

When I buy chickens, I buy them whole and break them down myself. The exception is when they have leg quarters on sale for $029/lb. These are in a large 10# bag and frozen solid. They came this way from the meat packer. I never buy chicken parts broken down by a grocer and never have them cut my chicken for me.