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?

He probably washes his hands regularly, and his hands are probably cleaner than the tongs...

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.

I was actually remembering baskets with lids and tongs for self service in supermarkets. Can't really recall the likes of Costa and Starbucks from 20 years ago, but notice that even they still have cakes behind glass (and under a glass dome in Costa last time I was there).

However, if bread isn't quite gross enough, I noticed the salad bar at Morrisons is also open to the air. Which - if I ate salad - I would worry about.

I'm always amazed by the number of people who let their kids buy pick and mix sweets! Unless of course they are actively trying to increase their children's exposure to germs , bacteria, fecal matter, urine traces , spit and snot to build up immunity.

Worked in a bakery as a schoolgirl and had to do a food hygiene certificate as a result - can't remember most of it but I do remember a bit about germs being unable to thrive on bread due to lack of moisture, therefore gloves are not needed to handle bread products. Unless your hands are dripping wet, of course :)

I dont think that staff handling product (assuming that normal food handling protocols are followed) is as big an issue as customers handling product.

Staff will tend to not be in when they are unwell. On the other hand customers will be dragging themselves into the shop when really quite unwell. So plenty of opportunity to 'share the love' when unwrapped food items are being handled.

@DGRossetti

'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 feel exactly the same. I hate open cakes / bread / food displays and will never buy from them.

I never buy any loose products. It's ridiculous to have stuff out like that open to public handling.

I never buy any loose products. It's ridiculous to have stuff out like that open to public handling.

That's before you consider the possibilities of one of these thousands of terrorists cells (we are told exist) suddenly cottoning onto it.

So what, are we saying that, once baked, the rolls should never touch human hands? Even if those hands have been washed?

I think some people should only eat food they have cooked themselves.

Bloody hell, havent any of you ever eaten in a cafe, restaurant or fast food outlet ? If you honestly think no human hand has ever touched your food just before it is served to you, your living in a dream world. Do you think spiders and other insects havent crawled over the fruit in your fruit bowl then you are sadly mistaken. How many of you rinse a can of coke or juice that you have just bought from a shop under the tap, bugs will have crawled over it in the store room and ungloved human hands will have stacked it in the chiller.

I wouldn't worry about his hands, there are mice in many of the stores anyway.

I don't buy any loose bread or cakes, except maybe if they are in those lifty up fronted things, but even those are open at the back. Sleeves, sneezes, flies, dirty hands that have been on even dirtier trolleys, personal bits, noses, ears, dandruffy heads, no thanks.

And how often do people think they wash the tongs?

That's before you consider the possibilities of one of these thousands of terrorists cells (we are told exist) suddenly cottoning onto it.

Wtf?

Best wrap everything in plastic. That won't cause any problems at all.

Oh... wait...

YABU. Wearing gloves does not make it more hygienic; people just think it does.

If I see someone handling food with gloves I will not eat it, because when wearing gloves people have a perception they are then “clean” and “safe”... and so go on to touch anything and everything with said gloves and rarely change them.

Gloves are very unhygienic; they just have a wrongful perception of being cleaner, which is what causes all their problems. It is far cleaner if someone has washed their hands and then handles food.

I couldn't go through life as a germaphobe. Most things we touch in public places are often really quite dirty. There's not much you can do about it. Just practice good hygiene yourself and stop worrying about it. There is too much plastic on our food in my opinion.

I don't understand who buys this stuff!

My mother was a germophobic, she boiled everything I ate off until I was 4. She told me that you can't catch anything from bread, probably not true but she said that was why bread was not wrapped in shops.

Yea I remember when everything used to be covered, even when a customer helped themselves.
Never had an issue then simply because people had common sense and never dug around with their hands. Wouldn't sneeze over food etc. Covered food gives you a sense of hygiene because at home you cover food.
Having everything open all you think about is bowls of nuts on bars a few years ago.
Daft hey, they were eventually phased out at a time when it was the norm to have food covered. Now we have no nuts and uncovered salad etc. 😂

I'm more surprised they would put them in the display one by one. Seems like a total waste of time. Every bakery or supermarket I've ever seen they just remove the rack from the oven and tip the whole lot into the basket/container at once.

Donuts or bakery items with stuff on top have to also be up there with one of the worse to have uncovered. At least with a baguette you can delude yourself that sneezes etc will slide off. Plus a blast in the oven at home sorts that out. But those bakery items, nah everything sticks to those and not like you can wash/cut off, heat in the oven.

Worst I saw was a customer sticking his fingers in a tub of anchovies, grabbing a few then putting them into his mouth. I told a member of staff but was met with a shrug.

I can't say any of that bothers me.

Pretty certain I've never had anything dodgy from a bakery item left open.

Shock horror, I don't even use the tongs since I'm only touching the items I'm buying!

When you eat at an Italian restaurant do you think they're wearing gloves when they make the fresh pasta or roll and open the pizza dough?

It's not a legal requirement to wear gloves when handling food and not wearing gloves is a company policy for some stores because when gloves are used people wash their hands less. Its supposedly more hygienic. They have a hand washing policy and I doubt his hands were dirty. The only time a person should wear gloves is when they have any wounds.