To not want to buy uncovered food in shops, cafes and delicatessens

[atthewelles]

Obviously things you can wash and that are going to be well cooked like vegetables and fruit are okay. But I do not want to buy bread, cakes or salads that other people have been handling or coughing and sneezing over.

AIBU to wish shops would either wrap or cover in some way these items, instead of just leaving them lying around in trays or on counters with no covering whatsoever?

[coraltoes]

I want someone to serve me these items and call me ma'am. I do not want every Tom, dick and Pauline touching my sourdough rolls.

[coraltoes]

YANBU btw

[GetOrf]

I agree.

I also want to be called ma'am.

i never buy any of the stuff which is just there on a shelf. ready to be touched by anyone passing by.

And don't get me started on the state of the salad selection bit in Morrisons. That looked worse than a Pizza Hut buffet.

[AreYouADurtBirdOrALadyBird]

I've bought my bread uncovered,every morning for years. I've yet to be sick cause of it.

[Moominsarehippos]

I especially love the open 'pick it yourself' museli bar near us. So many snotty little hands/faces in the raisins!

We were waiting at the bread counter as a tourist poked, prodded and sniffed the bread (in between blowing her nose). Even the baker looked disgusted but didn't say anything. It is foul!

[MaxPepsi]

Now cold food doesn't bother me ..........however I point blank refuse to eat a carvery.
My friends and family all think i'm extra weird!!!

So, no YANBU.

[claraschu]

You can have all the bags, wrappings, plastic, paper, polystyrene, etc. that would get wasted.
I think all those wrappings are far more damaging than any number of people breathing (I have never seen people poking, prodding, or fondling random loaves of bread).

[coraltoes]

A carvery is not natural. (shudder)

[coraltoes]

Claraschu, my solution does not involve packaging, and creates employment. I am the dragons den of food shopping today.

[usualsuspect]

Actually you sell more food if it's uncovered.

[InNeedOfBrandy]

I don't mind a salad bar, harvester one is very nice I can even do Chinese all you can eat style buffets. I'm quite a germ a phobe but help yourself stuff doesn't bother me.

Now if there was someone serving me calling ma'am but had greasy hair and dirty nails that would put me off!

[Moominsarehippos]

Fondling bread... That would be something! I did see a family pass a load around to sniff (two adults, two older children) before shoving it back on the shelf in Waitrose. Yuk.

Wholefoods is a den on pokers/prodders/snafflers. Mucky buggers.

[usualsuspect]

I love a nice carvery.

[atthewelles]

ClaraBut you could just cover up the display; keep the stuff behind the counter so only the staff can serve it; wrap it in brown paper. It doesn't have to be plastic and polystyrene.
I have often seen people, kids in particular, handling bread and cakes and then putting them back.

[NettoSuperstar]

If I don't see it, it didn't happen.

I need to follow this as I have a weakness for Morrison's salad bar, it's the bacon bits, I love them

[Moominsarehippos]

Loaf, not loaf. Uncovered loaf. No shame these people!

[usualsuspect]

Cafes leave cakes etc uncovered on the counter because customers impulse buy and like to help themselves. There are usually tongs to pick them up with. It doesn't bother me at all.

No point having them behind the counter.

[Pseudonymity]

Salad bars are a pit of disease.

There are two cafes near me, local, non-chain, homebaking types. I love them but they have uncovered cakes and food out on the counter where people are speaking, coughing, handing over money. I have to admit it disgusts me a bit (ma'am).

[GetOrf]

I love my local Whole foods, but yes you always have people prodding and touching. I am not paying a thousand pounds (ish) for some cheese that someone has poked.

Why do people need to pick up bread and sniff it? It smells of fucking bread.

[atthewelles]

You can have cakes behind a glass counter. People can still see them but will have to ask the assistant to actually serve them, so no random members of the public mauling them, coughing over them etc.

[CaramelBobbi]

Our local deli has those huge handmade cupcakes iced with mountains of brightly coloured buttercream and glitter sprinkles (just yuk on every level) on a tray, completely exposed on the top of the serving cabinet. As if they weren't unappealing enough.

My mother always taught me that when you're serving yourself from a cabinet with tongs (like when buying rolls etc in sainsburys), to always go for the ones at the very back. Because people's snotty cuffs may have touched the ones at the front. Nice thought.

[SaggyOldClothCatpuss]

At this time of year, I sell pies out of open baskets. God help anyone who touches them!
We use sneeze guards sometimes, but they look horrid and put people off. They are also expensive, fragile and easily broken when transporting to a new market every day.

[GetOrf]

lol at snotty cuffs

[Crinkle77]

No I feel exactly the same. Where I work they have some lovely stalls selling really nice cakes and stuff but with all these germs hanging round in the air it really puts me off

[usualsuspect]

Ah, but customers don't always ask. It's the impulse buyers that you need.