Not to want to buy fruit & veg that have been smoked on?

[EmpressWitchDoesntBurn]

I’m pretty sure IANBU but want to check.

There are a couple of market stalls in the local town centre most days selling fruit & veg. I really like the idea of buying from them instead of the supermarket, but too many times when I walk past one or more of the sellers will be smoking all over the produce & it puts me off completely.

That’s reasonable isn’t it? Or am I just being fussy?

How is it permitted? Might be outside, but its still food.

I'd wash it. Most fruit and veg has a pretty tough outer layer. If smoke particles can get through the skin of a butternut squash than we've got big problems. I'd perhaps avoid the soft fruits but really unless they're cutting through the skins and blowing smoke into the veg, I don't see the problem.

I am anti smoking generally.

I wouldn’t be buying it either, OP, because the stink of cigarette smoke makes me vomit, so I’d have to hurry past his stall with my breath held!
And like you, seeing a food retailer smoke over his produce would make me question his hygiene.

[quote LooseMooseHoose]@toodleloooo How would it seep in? Smoke seeps into fabric because it is woven and therefore has little holes to let the smoke in. Likewise the foam underneath if it's a sofa or something.

Unless the veg is knitted, you'll be fine[/quote]
unless the veg is knitted

I'm still laughing

@EmpressWitchDoesntBurn

I’m pretty sure IANBU but want to check.

There are a couple of market stalls in the local town centre most days selling fruit & veg. I really like the idea of buying from them instead of the supermarket, but too many times when I walk past one or more of the sellers will be smoking all over the produce & it puts me off completely.

That’s reasonable isn’t it? Or am I just being fussy?

You don't want tobsee what gets sprayed on em when thwyre growing then...

Off topic but I'm jealous you still have a market. Ours shut down due to Corona and haven't come back.

I definitely wouldn't buy it! Yuck!!!

It would put me off and I'm a smoker. Basic hygiene, come on!

@Bohemiagirl

Wouldn't put me off at all. I always wash fruit and veg. Years ago I worked in a supermarket. I saw things that would put you off ever eating anything! (Probably different now).

I worked part time on a supermarket deli counter years back when I was at college. No hygiene training back then so we didn't wash hands constantly, there weren't gloves, things like cheese wires were reused over and over and only cleaned at the end of the day etc.

First job in the morning was to check things like loose pakora, pate, (which had been on display for days, in and out of the chiller each night) and cheese for mould and scrap/cut off before putting back on display. 🤮

I know practices and hygiene have improved since then, but I still don't buy from any deli counters.

Someone smoking in a market over fruit/food or near clothes would bother me too. I don't want to buy anything smelling of smoke. If they want a cigarette they should be asking someone to stand in and move away from the stall.

I wash it before eating it so... The smoke around is the least of the issues with air quality and dust and people sneezing all over.

Weallhavewings - yep that all sounds very familiar! Didn't have things like pakora though where I grew up, we weren't sophisticated enough.

That's gross. I also hate when the seller puts fruits and vegetables stalls next to a busy road absorbing all the pollution from the traffic.

You could report to the Council, people aren't allowed to smoke in their workplace.

Well, the area the stalls are in is pedestrianised so that bit’s not an issue. I know I don’t see what happens to the stuff I buy in the supermarket before it gets there which is one of the reasons I was questioning myself.

I think I might give it a go, buy a couple of bits & see whether the smell does linger / can be washed off. Worst case scenario is I waste a quid or so & the stuff goes straight into my food recycling bin, I suppose.

No. The smell doesn't stick to fruit and veg since you wash it anyway. They would have to smoke into a bag with veg in it for it to have some effect.

@user1493494961

You could report to the Council, people aren't allowed to smoke in their workplace.

In enclosed workplace

I'd say it's dangerous too during a pandemic as the smoke has been inside the smoker's lungs and then breathed all over the veg.

Well that could be said for anyone breathing in the vicinity of the veg, the difference being that if they can't smell their breath, you won't be aware of it.

Yeah that would definitely stop me buying it. Who knows what kind of chemicals from the smoke could leech into the fresh foods. Yes I still thoroughly wash all our fresh fruit and veg, but I doubt there's been enough studies to work out how second hand smoke affects food products. Already been documented how long second and even third hand smoke can linger on and penetrate soft furnishings and cause health concerns. Wouldn't want to risk it would something that was to be consumed

My dad grows his own (he’s a eco warrior so it has food miles of about ten minutes from his home)
You should see the state of what he brings home-it’s covered in mud,slugs,snails,crap and god knows what else
He’s always moaning about pests like rabbits,foxes and cats
My parents wash it well and cook it-you wouldn’t think it’s the same veg at all
Smoking wouldn’t bother me at all-I’ve seen veg in its natural state and fox shit would bother me more than fag smoke
I’d worry about the bits you don’t see-like pesticides and other pests to be fair
(I do try not to think of fox crap while I’m eating it lol)

I hate to break this to people, but nicotine is used as a pesticide anyway.
Considering sewage plant solids are used as a fertiliser on fields, a smoking stall holder seems pretty minor in comparison.

@Vermeil

I hate to break this to people, but nicotine is used as a pesticide anyway. Considering sewage plant solids are used as a fertiliser on fields, a smoking stall holder seems pretty minor in comparison.

And deterrent. I myself used it because nothing else worked at that point

If you’re going to cook it then it really makes no difference

Is now the time to mention various common neonicotinoids?

No?!?!

You wash them, and more than likely peel them, no problem.
Or carry on buying them from supermarket if it really bothers you.

I wouldn't buy it because I wouldn't go near the smell of cigarette smoke, but I never buy fruit & veg that has been out on the pavement on a busy road either.

I can live with having to get my produce from the supermarket because there isn't anywhere else but I have fond memories of the bug ridden and mud covered stuff I was brought up on, all home grown. Would get home from school to see a bowl of lettuce soaking in salt water to remove the bugs, and the muddy water from the potatoes waiting to be thrown on the garden to water the next lot.

I do prefer hand knitted organic but it isn't always available, so smoke and traffic fumes is not the best flavouring I can think of.