Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Re Ice Cream?

132 replies

WTAFF · 03/04/2016 15:38

I'm after some advice from you all. I went for an ice cream today and ordered a cornet with a flake.

The woman behind the counter took payment from me and then after handling the money grabbed the cornet, filled it with ice cream and then stuck a flake in the cornet with her bare hands. The only part she didn't touch with her unwashed hands was the ice cream!

This is in a place with a 5* hygiene rating. Surely this can't be normal?

I have severe germ phobic tendencies (OCD) so this may be clouding my judgement. I didn't say anything in case I was being unreasonable but next time I think I might try another ice cream place!

WIBU?

OP posts:
WonkoTheSane42 · 03/04/2016 15:40

How do you know her hands were unwashed; was there a nugget of shit smeared on them or something? I'm not sure exactly how you expected her to put ice cream in a cone other than by holding it.

Excited101 · 03/04/2016 15:42

This is how all food used to be served until people became as germ phobic as they are now, it's perfectly fine. You need some germs to build up an immunity and even if she'd had gloves on you couldn't garentee where her hands had been.

I hope you're getting help for your OCD op.

mrsm43s · 03/04/2016 15:42

I've not really thought about this before. I think it probably is normal.

I guess they could wear gloves? I can't imagine them putting on a new pair of gloves in between each customer though, so they'd still be handling cash and your ice cream with the same gloves..

I must say, it wouldn't remotely bother me.

lamusic · 03/04/2016 15:42

It's not that unreasonable but it's kind of disgusting

HermioneJeanGranger · 03/04/2016 15:43

Stricly speaking, she should have had paper or a tissue around the cone if she'd been handling money. with the same hand.

Abed · 03/04/2016 15:43

It wouldn't bother me either.

MattDillonsPants · 03/04/2016 15:44

Not normal! I've never seen anyone do that at all. They always wear plastic gloves! Complain.

As to those who aren't bothered...that person has just handled money which is filthy! AND they might have just scratched their arse or nose!

Tomkat79 · 03/04/2016 15:45

Did you make sure you didn't hold the Cone in the hand that you'd held your money in?

WonkoTheSane42 · 03/04/2016 15:46

I guess they could wear gloves? I can't imagine them putting on a new pair of gloves in between each customer though, so they'd still be handling cash and your ice cream with the same gloves..

Exactly this - people think wearing gloves makes something hygienic, but evidence shows they can actually make the problem worse as the people wearing them think that's all they meed to do. In fact, all the gloves do is keep the wearers' hands clean.

glasg0wmum · 03/04/2016 15:46

Interesting that people seem to think plastic gloves - which might have been lying around all day and used by several people - are some sort of magic talisman against germs.

Obviouspretzel · 03/04/2016 15:47

The money thing is the only (minor) issue. To the people who are saying it's disgusting in general that she touched the food with her bare hands, do you think chefs in restaurants wear plastic gloves when they prepare your food?

CombineBananaFister · 03/04/2016 15:47

I see them wearing gloves at our local parlour but as they still take money in the gloves it destroys the whole point of wearing them really Grin

Vintage45 · 03/04/2016 15:48

Im not a germ phobic so I wouldn't care.

HermioneJeanGranger · 03/04/2016 15:48

TBH, despite my earlier post, it personally wouldn't bother me. I just know that that's how it should be done as I work with food.

You should handle money with one hand and fresh food with the other, or use tongs or paper towl or something to hold the food so you don't spread germs.

But, in reality, people pay for food in cash and then eat it without washing their hands everyday. It's extremely unlikely to make you sick. But she should be doing her job properly regardless. Professional food servers/handlers should be more stringent with hygiene than that.

Ameliablue · 03/04/2016 15:48

If say it is fairly normal. They shouldn't really be handling money and serving food but in most ice cream vans there is only one person on and it would take far longer if they had to wash or change gloves everyone they served someone. Personally it doesn't really bother me as I have also handled the money and the cone without washing in between.

merrymouse · 03/04/2016 15:49

I think the point is that you aren't supposed to handle money and then handle food. I'm not really bothered by this kind of thing, but maybe the idea is that you should have two people serving or you put gloves on just to prepare ice cream.

merrymouse · 03/04/2016 15:49

Personally it doesn't really bother me as I have also handled the money and the cone without washing in between.

Fair point!

TempusEedjit · 03/04/2016 15:51

I was going to say the same as tomkat79

Pinkheart5915 · 03/04/2016 15:52

I think they aren't meant to handle money then food.
my favourite seaside ice cream parlour alway put gloves on when doing the ice cream/flakes.

AdrenalineFudge · 03/04/2016 15:53

Did you eat the ice cream?

merrymouse · 03/04/2016 15:57

I suppose the theory is that if you are handling lots of money and handling lots of ice cream cones/other food there is more likely to be a problem.

However I've never heard of anybody being ill in practice because of this.

Original poster
WTAFF · 03/04/2016 16:03

I ate the ice cream but I couldn't eat the cornet or the flake. The silly thing was she handed the cornet to me covered in a tissue. If she had done this when preparing my ice cream I would have been fine with this.

I wouldn't have touched the cornet with my bare hands without using hand sanitiser.

Of course she didn't have a nugget of shit hanging off her fingers. She didn't wash them in between handing a credit card machine for another customer, taking my
money and opening the ice cream window. For the purposes of my interaction with her, that counts as unwashed IMO.

Thanks for your opinions. Perhaps this is more about my OCD than anything else. Smile

OP posts:
shazzarooney99 · 03/04/2016 16:07

Ive have never saw an ice cream man wear gloves.

AugustaFinkNottle · 03/04/2016 16:13

It wouldn't bother me, to be honest. I manage to eat ice cream cornets out of my bare hands without washing them beforehand, and I haven't had food poisoning from it yet.

TheRightThingToDo · 03/04/2016 16:13

Good God. You'd be there all day if she was taking her gloves off/ putting them on/ sanitising her hands in between every stage of your transaction.

She probably just had clean hands...simple

Swipe left for the next trending thread