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Original poster

[hmm] Baby Food and John Lewis's Money Making Scheme

37 replies

raybells · 27/03/2008 22:38

I went to the Brasserie in John Lewis in Cambridge today and, as well as ordering our own food, I did as I usually do and asked them if they could put my home-made baby food in the microwave for 45 seconds so I could feed my baby.

The woman said that for Health and Safety reasons this was not possible but that they did, luckily, sell their own baby food.

She produced a range of Hipp Organic jars.

So they can heat up THIS baby food, after I've bought it of course, but not mine?

Making money being disguised as Health and Safety fears?

For this reason, and needless to say, I will be boycotting this restaurant from now on.

OP posts:
WinkyWinkola · 27/03/2008 22:39

IME all restaurants and cafes are refusing to heat up baby food now.

Cappuccino · 27/03/2008 22:40

loads of places do that not just John Lewis

I was once in Starbucks and they said they couldn't give me a jug of hot water to warm up my milk, they had to do it behind the counter 'for health and safety'

yet they were happy to flog me a boiling hot latte

SmugColditz · 27/03/2008 22:41

No, it is a genuine rule that you may not use commercial microwave to heat food that had been prepared off the premises, for the reason that it could be carrying untold legions of bacteria just mounting in force to spread their disease all over her lovely clean microwave ... which will then be used for the next person. YOu can take your own jars in, if they are sealed.

A mate of mine got round this by putting her own food in an old jar, and 'opening it for' the shop assistant so she didn't notice the lack of seal.

squimlet · 27/03/2008 22:41

yes sadly this is one of those things they cant do. However they are able to give you hot water so that you can warm your own food. They have certainly done this for us before.

snowleopard · 27/03/2008 22:43

Unfortunately I think she has a point. Someone could bring in badly prepared/stored, unsafe baby food, give it to them to heat up and then sue them if it causes food poisoning. If they use a hipp jar they know it's pasteurised.

More companies are adopting policies like this as people get increasingly eager to sue, american-style. I know someone who works in local government who told me they had to chop down some cherry trees because they shed cherries on the pavement and people were slipping on them and suing the council. It looks like madness, but there's a valid reason.

However my experience of John Lewis is that if you buy food for you, they give you a free Hipp jar if you need it - so that's odd.

Flibbertyjibbet · 27/03/2008 22:47

Did you walk in with your own butties too? If you go into a cafe then is it not reasonable to suggest that you eat the food that you buy there and not bring your own?

At our John Lewis the jar of baby food is free if you are buying adult food....

brimfull · 27/03/2008 22:48

JL give you free baby food don't they?

hifi · 27/03/2008 22:52

think you were being a bit cheeky .

fledtoscotland · 27/03/2008 22:57

i've got a fisherprice thermos flask that has a large lid that you can put your babyfood/bottle in to heat. some places will only heat it behind the counter and i'm not prepared to let my DS's food/milk out of my sight. you can get them in boots for about £8.

SmugColditz · 27/03/2008 23:20

fled, why won't you let food or milk go out of your sight? What do you think people would want to do with it?

Flibbertyjibbet · 27/03/2008 23:25

Better still, train your baby to take food and drink at room temperature. My two never had anything heated up and were quite happy - not to mention that it saved all manner of faff if we were out and about.
In fact my two were always happy to scoff or slurp anything straight from the fridge if necessary - including expressed bm.

akent · 28/03/2008 09:19

If you're a Cambridge local, you may already know that Debenhams have a microwave and bottle warmers so that you can heat up your own food. Don't know whether they do this in other branches. I did opt for the eating it cold or BLW approach.

marina · 28/03/2008 09:21

JLP in Bluewater give you free baby jars if you are buying a meal for yourself

harpsichordcarrier · 28/03/2008 09:24

there is absolutely no way in the world that if you took your own food into a restaurant and fed it to your baby, and got food poisoning,

marina · 28/03/2008 09:26

Tell us harpsi...

ivykaty44 · 28/03/2008 09:28

Allergy - claim allergy and ask if their own baby food is free of "whatever" then claim for health and saftey reasons you can't risk it with their own food and if they can't heat up your food would this be discimination? saod with such a loevely wide smile and in such a gentle voice with your head on one side.

SmugColditz · 28/03/2008 10:07

You can claim whatever allergies you like - they can't break the health and safety laws, and would probably sweetly direct you to the food flask things in the baby care section!

littleducks · 28/03/2008 10:21

I never bought dd tinned food and blw her but i always got free hipp baby food from jl, call me stingy but i didnt want to miss out. She used to eat it as if it were yoghurt quite happy for the change as it was exciting and different.

Im sure they have baby bottle warmers in the baby care room if that helps.

ImPinkThereforeImSpam · 28/03/2008 10:56

I know you're probably carting loads of stuff around already, but a flask of boiling water is a useful thing to have. A teabag or one of those paper tubes of nescafe too, then you can feed Lo anywhere and have a brew yourself!

fledtoscotland · 28/03/2008 12:15

smugcolditz - i wouldnt let DS have stuff that had been out of my sight because of allergies. i dont want him ill because of cross-contamination.

ivykaty44 · 28/03/2008 12:49

My point was the health and saftey rules - can someone show me the actual legilation that you are not allowed to warm up baby food or food brought into the eating area by the customer?

It is not included in the food and hygiene certificate for persons serving food.

SmugColditz · 28/03/2008 13:21

www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2004/uksi_20043279_en.pdf

DforDiva · 28/03/2008 13:26

the thing is if you buy baby food will they actually heat it up for you???

SmugColditz · 28/03/2008 13:32

They will generally allow it to be heated out of other customer's reach in a bowl of hot water.

SmugColditz · 28/03/2008 13:33

My local caff(sic) with do you a bowl of unsalted mashed potato and carrot. He's a Hunnybunny