AIBU to be surprised about Tesco employee

[Singinghollybob]

I was in Tesco earlier and an employee was stocking the unwrapped individual bread rolls, taking them from the crates and putting them on the shelf. I'm not the most germ - averse person however he was handling the rolls with his bare hands. Am I alone in thinking he should be using the tongs that are hanging below the shelves to handle unwrapped food, and wonder what Tesco's policy is?

They don't wear gloves in ours, but are all kitted out in hats and bakers whites.

They aren't handling money so are probably cleaner than 90% of the customers who will definitely be touching stuff.

The bread racks are insanely hot when they come out of the oven too, so chucking gloves around the place is probably pointless.

Tbh they’ve probably been touched/coughed on/sneezed on a million times by shoppers anyway. Unwrapped stuff makes me feel abit sick

I would have thought he'd need gloves or tongs rather than be touching them directly.

In our shop we put them out wearing gloves, which isn't our "official policy", it's a common sense thing

It's also not a Tesco

Yeah I understand they're likely to be getting manhandled by customers and coughed/sneezed on, I was just surprised that an employee would be handling them bare handed.

YABU but only because the loose rolls bread will have been touched by many grubby hands rummaging through, picking up and changing their mind etc

I stopped buying unwrapped stuff after seeing a man walking around a supermarket, coughing with his mouth wide open and uncovered while inspecting the merchandise.

I have never known any supermarket who has this as a policy. The Bakery employees as well as the pizza/fish counter employees I have encountered have never worn gloves. What about the employees who restock the fruit/veg do you expect them to wear gloves too?
Also what kind of gloves - disposal rubber gloves, woollen gloves, etc

I've commented before on being surprised on how much is left open these days. Cakes and bread at supermarkets and cakes and in cafes in particular. But I was told to get over myself and stop being a fuddy duddy. Unfortunately I couldn't and just don't buy.

Flip side is it's much harder to put weight on.

I guess he probably should have worn gloves, but it really wouldn't bother me that he hadn't. Surely they would have to be disposable gloves, so more plastic waste to go out at the end of the day at a time when we should be cutting right down on it.

I use the tongs when picking it up, if they haven't wandered off. You don't know in the end though how clean they are either. They will have been fingered by plenty of people, including toddlers. In the end you just have to get on with it.

This is why I never ever buy unwrapped stuff from anywhere. Not only do workers handle them without gloves but I'm certain people cough and sneeze on them and they get poked by passing children.

BOAK

We have a lovely little market near us every Saturday with amazing looking cakes but they're all just out, unwrapped, uncovered on the stall so I can't physically bring myself to buy one.

I work in a supermarket bakery, not Tesco though. Gloves are not worn at all. Hands are washed when entering the bakery and just before restocking the fresh bread and rolls. I must admit I do use tongs when putting out loose products but that is purely because I think it looks better for the customers. But in fact a few minutes before I would have handled them anyway to take them off the oven trays.
I am very thorough about handwashing if that helps.

As I said, I'm probably a bit of a fuddy duddy, so a failing memory along with extreme nostalgia is to be expected.

but I am pretty certain at one time things were kept in containers with lids and notices about using the tongs provided (which they were).

Peak gross for me came at a "Boston Tea Party" (don't worry youngsters, I won't make it a habit, it was DS treat) where there was a counter full of uncovered cakes everyone had to file past to get to the drinks/till.

Is my memory failing, or were things less grim "back in the day" ?

A few years ago in a very known supermarket they dropped a tray of cheese rolls and then put them back one by one. It can be worse

I'm with you on this. Of course if they wrapped everything up in plastic we would get our panties in a bunch as we are in the midst of a Climate Emergency.

I remember being in Lidl’s and a young girl dropped one of the doughnuts on the floor, a man turned to her and said “don’t worry, just put it back no one has noticed!”

I have never ever had food poisoning from bread and it is highly unlikely given the science.

What is wrong with you all or do threads like these attract germophobes.

DGRossetti I think 'back in the day' more things were kept behind glass and customers were served by staff. Customers only handled their own purchases.

That is my memory anyway of our local bakery

Can you imagine how long it would take to restock using tongs, one roll at a time? I can see why he'd have used his hands. So long as he's washing his hands before and afterwards, I can't see an issue with this at all.

There was a time, back in the dark ages when I was a child, when nothing was prewrapped. Nothing at all. Astonishingly, we all survived.

Honestly, I just assume that all food I eat has been touched by multiple people. Whether or not you see it happen doesn't actually affect how likely it is to make you ill.

I've stopped buying bread from Tesco's bakery since they started displaying it unwrapped.

I dont buy anything unwrapped now, since my local tesco staff were putting theire hands through a box of raw mince, yuk.

Our local bakery the staff who put the bread out don't wear any gloves, but as they are working with food are washing their hands as and when needed. The staff selling use gloves on one hand and the other for handling that filthy money. So the staff in tesco aren't handling cash, probably not a problem

I used to work in the bakery at a supermarket,and we never wore any gloves at all. it was quite impractical.to be taking hot bread and rolls out of the ovens,and then taking them to the racks in the shop.Some people are just overly fussy about these things.