Colleague's food hygiene

[cocoachannel]

Hi everyone

I have a colleague who is constantly making cakes and things to bring into the office. She means well but has shown herself to have really bad hygiene standards. For example, she brings in cakes and licks her fingers between putting each one out on the tray to give them out, she's been seen eating peanut butter off her fingers and dipping them back into a communal pot, she never washes the fruit she buys and hands round.

I've challenged herbon the fruit and she said because she spends her weekends doing historical reenactments she doesn't feel she needs to adhere to food hygiene standards, and has never been sick...

Anyway, my Q is this, we have a couple of girls in the department who have just announced their pregnancies (I'm also pg but knowing what I do, avoid this girls cakes etc.), should I warn them about her food hygiene? Should anyone else be warned, maybe I could tip people off and run off on maternity leave? Or should I challenge her again?

WWYD? Thanks!

'challenged her on'. Not herbon- where does predictive text get that from!?

Just don't eat her cakes?

Don't eat her cakes if you don't want to and leave her alone

I don't wash fruit either -if she licks her fingers when handing out food then others in the office will notice too or not care. You will look like a complete loon if you announce it to everyone.

I would mind my own business. Either eat the cakes or don't, and let others make their own choices.

BTW unless your company employs teenagers, your colleagues are women not girls. If you remember that then you might feel less inclined to get involved.

i think if you have noticed it then others will too

to be fair i don't think you're at risk of anything (though i agree it's a bit unnecessary and yuck)

am LOVING her reason for not washing fruit though! lol
what bearing does historical re-enactments have on it????

You're right provincial lady- I can't believe I've fallen into calling people 'girls'. It's common parlance where I work. A very 'luvvy' environment where everyone refers to girls/boys (I am 30 and one of the oldest staff members), and sign their emails off with kisses...I stand corrected.

You're all right. I'll leave it. She gets a lot of stick for other reasons irrelevant to this issue, so it would just rock the boat further. Thanks!

I've never been on an historical reenactment. does that mean I should bleach/scrub all foodstuffs?

thisisyesterday- apparently on the historical reenactments they don't bother with "modern food hygiene things". I'm not sure that counts for all though- in my last job I worked with a lady who went on reenactment weekends and she used to be obsessive about antibacterial hand gel and such like!

Good on you for being gracious about my snippy post - I was in a terrible mood earlier, since rectified with ice cream. Sorry about that

I have never washed fruit.

I'm not dead yet.

Snap, I don't think I'm dead yet either

Apparently, it is a total waste of time washing fruit. The sprayed on stuff has long since evaporated and what hasn't gone, will not be touched by washing.