Re Ice Cream?

[WTAFF]

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?

The best solution is for them to pick the cone up with a serviette, I have seen this in a few places, plus you can use it for the dripping ice cream.

I wouldn't like it. When I worked in an ice cream place we used a napkin to hold the cone and tongs for the flake.

YANBU this is quite yucky given that she's handling change.

Why can't we go back to the good old days, when doctors didn't wash their hands before delivering babies? A bit of puerperal fever never did anyone any harm in my day (!)

My local ASDA has stopped the staff from wearing gloves when preparing fresh pizza. When I queried it the staff member said it was more hygenic not wearing gloves as staff were more likely to wash their hands more often.

oh dear....I wonder how survived growing up in the 60's and 70's!!...It really wouldn't have bothered me tbh

FGS, this is how ice cream vans have operated since time immemorial. I don't think anyone has died yet.

OP - did you touch the money while paying? Because if you did and you didn't wash you hands, then any hand washing/glove wearing etc. by the server would be pretty much wasted effort.

Money carries more germs than anything so if you touched money to pay you would have to wash your hands before eating the ice cream.

Can't get too wound up by this TBH. If you have handled the money to pay and they have handled it too, it's all the same really. You could always have a tub just to be safe.

That said i don't eat the cone once the ice cream has all gone though.

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perspicacia yes I touched the money. However, I wouldn't have then gone on to hold the cornet with my bare hands without putting in some hand sanitizer on.

In any event, the lady handed me my cornet wrapped in a tissue. I also keep tissues in my pocket for this type of situation.

Order a tub next time.

Yes, tub is the way to go if worried. Or maybe a Mr Bubble.

I've never heard of a Mr Bubble!

Ice lolly. All wrapped up so no germs, and a blue mouth for the rest of the day.

". However, I wouldn't have then gone on to hold the cornet with my bare hands without putting in some hand sanitizer on. "

Your day sounds a laugh a minute. Do you insist on sanitizing your kids' hands before they eat a cone? Its a childhood pleasure eating cones with grubby hands ( usually with a bit of snot as a starter).

I hope you're getting help with the OCD but we really need MORE exposure to stuff to keep us healthy and stop sanitising everything thus making us unable to deal with bacteria.

Ginslinger is right on the money. You need to be exposed to some dirt and bacteria and your body is designed to defend you from it. It is not healthy or practical to exist in a sterile environment.

To be fair you can have pets in your house and still achieve a level 5 food hygiene rating for your home based business.

Tissues aren't germ-free so not sure how wrapping the cone in one would be any better than a bare hand.

But you sound like a reasonable person OP so hope this thread has helped you :)

She should have used a tissue to handle the food. Or preferably there should have been one person handling the money and another preparing the ice creams, wearing gloves.

You need to be exposed to some dirt, bacteria, viruses -- agreed. But commercial food outlets don't necessarily have to be the place where you are exposed. Places that sell food should take more precautions. Money is filthy.

This is not being precious. There are food hygiene standards, and if somebody is going to blatantly flout them in front of their customers, it does make you wonder how stringent they are in areas you don't see.

I don't buy ice cream from vans that don't have sinks in them. I also wouldn't have accepted an ice cream when the cone and flake had been handled immediately after handling money etc.

I've seen plenty of people operate ice cream vans hygienically e.g. glove on left hand. This hand is used to hold the cone whilst the ice cream machine is operated with the right hand. Flake is inserted using a tongs. Money is all handled in the right hand. No need to take glove on and off, but also need to swap between handling money and then food.

I agree Squiggle.

YANBU.

I have the same issues and this really bothers me. I was talking to a friend about this and he works for a local dairy who make posh ice cream and have their own vans for summers shows.

He said really the cones should come with a paper sleeve, then it protects your food from money germs. Really it's the money germs that bother me.

I don't eat cones anyway but this practice does freak me out, and I think the original question was "how is this ok in a 5* food rated place".

No, this isn't right. Said employee should either have one hand for handling money and not directly tching food and the other to touch food if needed or wash hands in between touching money and food or else use a napkin etc as a barrier so as not to touch food and money. I notice these things (but then I'm quite fussy) and remember several years ago having this happen to me and being really annoyed as it ruined my enjoyment of the ice cream.

I think it's fussy. What if the ice cream vendor coughed? would you expect them to wear a mask? It's a fast food van so I think you need to expect it not to be scrupulously clean.
You are more likely to catch a bug standing next to someone in the queue than eating a cone that has been held by someone that touched money.