Hygeine in food places - gloves

[PippyRose]

So I've just bought some sandwiches from Subway. The girl who served me was wearing plastic gloves to serve the customer before me and was handling money. She then made my sandwiches wearing the same gloves! She took cash from me for payment and then finished preparing the food wearing the same gloves!! God knows how long she'd been wearing them on previously.

I didn't challenge her at the time (probably should have done). But she was friendly and polite and very young. I also wasn't aware of the Subway policy about wearing gloves (I'm still not).

I must admit, I was a bit disgusted but left without saying anything. Surely this is a hygiene issue!?

Gloves should be taken off at the till and a fresh pair put on with each order - that's what usually happens

as per pp
or even better to have one person at the till and one only dealing with the food.
they should also practice the clean hand / dirty hand moves.

I would far rather that people preparing food did not wear gloves and washed their hands frequently. Even better if money could be handled separately.

When l worked in food retail that's,exactly why were not allowed to wear gloves. Just washed our hands before making food after handling money. Gloves give people the illusion of cleanliness.

Did you eat your sandwich?

I emphatically do not want the world further polluted by a fresh pair of fucking gloves for every order in a fast food place!!

Yes I did eat it but I removed the salad that I had seen her add. Another girl had put the other ingredients on so I ate it.

I know what you mean about new gloves for every sandwich (environmental issues) but surely as they had two members of staff, one could prepare the food and one could stay on the till? Or, just not wear gloves and wash hands!!

I have sent a complaint email to Subway and asked for their policy on this. I'm not a hygiene freak or anything but it actually made me feel a bit sick. All those sweaty hands touching that money and then using greasy gloves to handle coins then touching food. Yuk.

I bought four sandwiches and she'd only added salad to mine. My family ate the rest but they were blissfully unaware!

I suppose it's the thought of it rather than it being a genuine cross contamination issue but still....surely it's better to play safe.

Dear god! I wouldn't have been able to eat something prepared like that

Gloves are far less hygienic than regular hand-washing, I hate seeing people use them!

I'm glad it's not just me! I'll see what Subway come back with if I get a reply.

I see this often and can never work out the purpose of the gloves, it gives the wearer a false idea of hygiene. The only thing not cross contaminated is their hands.

My OH owns a food shop and he is a stickler for hygiene. They do have gloves but they are only to be used when someone has a cut or injury and they do help keep blue plasters on.
To be fair no one touches the food as it is done by tongs. And he has separate till operators to food severs. And he has a lot of different tongs. Including ones for vegetarians.

I'm sure many will be along to tell you you're being completely ridiculous. But like you said, it's more the thought of it than any actual 'danger'.
What's the point in the gloves if not to prevent this happening. I think she may need some more training.
I guess tongs would be the easiest solution as well as regular hand washing.
But no, YANBU.

I literally could have written this. I was left with the same disgust at my local subway for the same thing! Couldn't even eat it after lol

When I worked in food prep a couple of years ago, gloves were out and hand-washing was in. Gloves are not hygienic and good and smells stick to them and transfer across departments.

Subway protocols are that a fresh pair of gloves should be used for every customer. In stores with more than one member of staff they'll have one person just preparing food (and not necessarily changing gloves between each customer) and another handling cash who doesn't wear gloves at all.

Sounds like this staff member wasn't properly trained.

Personally I think people put far too much faith in gloves as some sort of miracle food hygiene product which will protect them from all ill. I'd much rather see them have one person on food and one on cash, or hand washing. Using one pair of plastic gloves and throwing them away is SO wasteful.

I work in a coffee shop that prepares sandwiches. We don't wear gloves. We sanitise our hands immediately after handling money, and before touching any food, and between customers. We only really touch the bread though as tongs or spoons are used for everything else. This includes separate tongs for meat/salad, and separate knifes for meat/bread that are wiped clean between each use.

She should not have handled food and money without - think where that money has been! Vile

I thought the purpose of the gloves was that you wear them while handling the food and take them off while handling the money so none of the money-germs end up on the food. That's what happens in the cafe I sometimes go to - They don't put on new gloves for each customer but they take them off to handle the money.

I used to work for subway and she should not habe done this. Gloves should changed after handling meat before adding salad and if it's the same member of staff gloves should be removed before handling cash and a new set put on to serve the next customer

As a customer you can ask any subway employee to change their gloves at any point in making your sandwich

I complained to Zizzi once because I saw the chef handling meat and then making my vegetarian pizza They told me I must have been mistaken.

I’ve asked someone to change their gloves before when preparing food and they did it happily - I did feel like a bit of a PITA for asking but I’m glad I did!

I've had similar happen to me in Greggs bakers. The woman was wearing blue latex/vinyl gloves to take money from customers in front of me. I asked for an uncut loaf (this was a few years ago when loaves were kept behind the counter and you had to ask for them). She picked the loaf up without changing her gloves,and when I questioned the hygiene aspect of this after she'd been handling money she said 'It's OK,I'm wearing latex gloves'. I was and said 'Yes but you've been touching money while wearing them!' She could not understand at all what I was getting at. She honestly thought that because she had latex gloves on,it somehow didn't matter if she handled something 'unclean' beforehand!

Unfortunately that seems to be par for the course in the UK. I was shocked to see this kind of thing when I first arrived, but 20 years later have got used to it. I drew the line when a server once sneezed onto the sandwich she was preparing for me, though (paid for it but then threw it straight into the bin—more fool me!).

This happens at the butcher's in my local market too. Fingers handling the raw meat, then the cash, then raw-meat contaminated fingers handing you your change and bagged-up meat.

My God. Seems to be common place. If we get this level of hygiene on the counter in full view of customers.....what the hell goes on in the back of these places? And in a butchers - that's a real health risk!

QuitMoaning, hotcrossbunsandtea and Restingbitchface - we need more places like yours!

Thanks Amysaurus. Good to know it's not standard practice for Subway.

If it happens again, I'm definitively going to say something. I know it's a bit 'third world problems' but when you're paying £4 for a buttie you at least want to know it's clean!!