AIBU t think that this is really unhygenic?

[ILiveAtTheBeach]

My DH takes the block of cheese out of the packet, and then sits the cheese on top of the packet to chop it. This wrapper/packet has been handled by so many people! The Factory workers, the van loaders, the shelf stackers, the people in the supermarket that looked at it and put it back, the cashiers, and it's been on the sticky conveyor belt, etc etc. Surely there's a lot of germs on it?! It's not a big problem (obvs), but he doesn't get that I think that's a bit minging - use our clean chopping board instead. Am I wrong?

I hold the block up and slice the cheese in my hand, holding one end of cheese with my thumb and cutting towards me. I can get really thin slices.
If I use a chopping board or slice it on a surface I end up with huge thick slices.
Same with things like cucumber.
I just peel the wrapper down a bit and hold onto the cheese through the wrapper. However, If I have to take the block of cheese out of the packet to slice it then I'm not bothered about shere I put it to be honest.

if you do not like it, clean the cheese wrapper when you put it in the fridge.

the thing is, once you have started thinking about it then you can not forget easily... it will haunt you, the thought of all those germs...

This thread makes me think of that cheese where you have to wear eyeshades to stop the maggots leaping into your eyes as you eat - Cazu Marzu.

If you think about any cheese too long, you don't want to think about bacteria.

I do it too. Never thought about it. We and kids very rarely ill though. My kids also pick up and eat food they've dropped on the floor. (I do sweep it up but I'm not over fussed on doing so immediately.There seems little point since they have both put anything and everything in their gobs since they had sufficient hand to mouth coordination.)
Meanwhile friend who is phobic about germs, even throws cups/plates away if they have been taken INTO THE GARDEN (the horror, the horror!) has children who throw up like soup dispensers on a regular basis.
We need germs for a robust immune system. Many people "live too clean". If you have a child with reduced immunity i.e. chemotherapy etc, fair enough.Otherwise, YABU.

Erm, you do realise you have to touch the wrapper to get the cheese out in the first place? Thereby transferring horrifying "germs" from the unsanitised wrapper to your hands, and then to the cheese? Of course, unless you have surgically scrubbed your hands before endangering your health with cheese wrappers, you probably have far more bacteria on your hands than the smooth plastic cheese wrapper kept in the fridge anyway.

The same goes for any packaging. And you keep it all in your fridge, touching food.

Sometimes I slice it on top of the cheese packet, sometimes I use a chopping board or plate. If the cheese has been in the fridge a few days won't any check out/factory/dirty shopper germs have died off anyway? Viruses and other nasties don't survive that long on surfaces do they?

I think the couple of years we all spent as babies putting our hands and everything else we found into our mouths has prepared us well for a cheese wrapper.

Freezer kills dust mites, not germs

Fish that is to be consumed raw or near-raw is frozen for a period of time in order to kill any parasites that might be present in it. Though according to Google it seems to be debatable whether the kind of freezer you have at home would achieve this...

Bump fridges don't kill germs but slow down spoilage. That's why perishable refrigerated items still have use-by dates although some foods are more perishable than others.

If by surfaces you mean plastic etc, it depends on the level of contamination - eg a cheese packet with cheese crumbs on it will sustain microrganisms more than a totally sterile bit of plastic, but certainly it's not the breeding environment that say a chicken breast is.

I'm having cheese for breakfast.
dailym.ai/1RZLzpr

Loving the people saying in all seriousness that they've done this and never been ill. Yeah, no fucking kidding. What astonishing immune systems you must have to cope with such an onslaught of germs!

Seriously, this is ridiculous. I suspect you'd have a far far greater chance of eating cheese continated with listeria than of catching anything from the cheese packet.

But then I have a low tolerance for obsessive hygiene which tends to be more about squeamishness than rational safety awareness. In our house we double dip (not when we have guests though).

Continated? What the feckery feck does 'continated' mean? Contaminated, obviously

Fuck! I had forgotten that I live in constant contact with THE WORLD!

Someone, please, pass the Dettol, I am continated contaminated!

I COULD DIE, PEOPLE!!

I do that - when I am doing it I'm thinking that a probably shouldn't do this. Still do it though

You touch the wrapper then touch the cheese so it doesn't make a difference.

I do this and at time of posting was not dead.

I have always done this. My family and I are all still here and in good health, I do assure you.

I wouldn't do this because I wouldn't want the outside of the packet to get all cheesy. I use a chopping board or a plate, or if grating it just hold the cheese.

I would do this.

I think sometimes we worry too much.

You touched the packet to open it before touching cheese so transferred anything then anyway.

Plus it's good to have bugs sometimes, the immune system learns to fight.

Plus my chopping board sits in the cupboard which while not dirty is not a sterile lab surface.

Anthony I am vegetarian so there's no serious danger of food poisoning

Rice? Isn't it one of the most common sources of food poisoning?

Although I am veggie too and have not once had food poisoning.

It is a myth, veggies not getting food poisoning. I think I posted a list on the Teatowel Abuse thread.

All of these have caused food poisoning in America and Europe:
Rice
Tofu
Sprouting beans
Fresh fruits
Vegetables
Eggs
Dairy products
Lentils
Herbs
Melons and squash
Lettuce
Soft fruits
Coconuts
Fruit juices
Nuts

These are the foods and types of food poisoning caused by poor food hygiene:
Salmonella: eggs, sprouting beans, coconuts.
Bacillus cereus: rice, cereal products, cheese products.
Clostridium botulinum: fresh yoghurt purees, tinned vegetables, honey.
Clostridium perfringens: beans and raw unpeeled vegetables.
E.coli: vegetable and salad crops in contact with raw sewage or untreated slurry, fresh, unpasteurised fruit juices.
Listeria monocytogenes: soft cheeses, ice cream, vegetables.
Staphylococcus aureus: dairy products, eggs.

I've had food poisoning twice, once from sausages and once from rice. With the rice I was throwing up within about half an hour, my body quite violently rejected it.

I do that. Saves on creating mess, doesn't it?