Other people's cooking makes me feel sick

[TheLuckyMoose]

Okay, so I already know I am BU in some ways. I’m just not sure how others cope?

Other people’s food hygiene standards make me feel sick. Whether it’s my brother cooking with a sweaty forehead, whether it’s people touching the food when I know they haven’t washed their hands. Or it could be someone talking over the food they are making and I’m sure saliva is getting into the food.

Recently I have been at a friends house and she doesn’t rinse the debris off the plates before washing them. So the basin water ends up full of stuff and that water is subsequently used to clean more dishes.

I also have a friend who literally licks her fingers whilst cooking.

I wondered if I have OCD, but my fear is not of getting ill, it’s more that I feel sick eating the food given to me when people just aren’t hygienic enough in my opinion.

I know this post sounds awful, please be gentle with me. I have had issues with this since I was little, but I’m just noticing more and more people doing unhygienic things whilst preparing meals and it’s making my life difficult.

Whatever the aesthetics and ICK of licking a cooking spoon, talking over the food (horrors! clearly one should be wearing a face mask or keeping silent) or having the temerity to get a bit sweaty in a hot kitchen over the proverbial hot stove, none of these things are going to give you food poisoning. A trace amount of saliva in hot, cooked food will not transmit the plague. A less-than-pristine hand-washed plate will not make you ill. A drop of sweat (ok it's not a nice prospect) will not give you something nasty. Therefore, whatever you feel about it, it's irrational. It's not going to make you ill.

So I think OP has a fairly obvious MH issue about food prep and should probably try to address it. I assume she never eats out - you'd probably rather not know what goes on in commercial kitchens!

@GlomOfNit - appreciate your opinion. Are you okay with saliva in cold food and people licking their fingers whilst preparing your sandwiches? Because that is what my friend does. And what I have discussed in the thread.

Also, @GlomOfNit, it’s very easy to read all of my messages by clicking “see all” on my first post. This would have also answered your restaurants remark.

So long as someone washes hands before prepping, cooking and serving food and doesn’t cough or sneeze over it , I’m fine .
One acquaintance house they offered me ice 🧊 with my drink but asked me to fetch it myself from the freezer which smelled odd to me .
i think they didn’t wash out the ice tray or clean and defrost the freezer so I didn’t have the ice 🧊
I dislike that and greasy sinks full of debris from washing up 😖 I have a dishwasher and when I do need to wash up I have a system 😂 with cleanest items first , dirty pots last .
then I drain and clean the sink

I'm exactly the same. I don't even like to have a coffee in some friends/family houses unless I make it myself AFTER I've washed the cup . Had a coffee in friends house once and the cup was dirty, old stains 😬I usually just take my own bottle of water. I can only eat gluten free so I take my own food 😋 and get out of it that way.

I'm laughing at all the people suggesting therapy. OP doesn't need therapy for being grossed out over her friend licking her fingers while preparing sandwiches!

What are we missing out on? A few home made cakes, the odd meal. So what? Yeah I'm funny about food sometimes, it doesn't impact my life in any meaningful way. Certainly not to the extent I would need therapy!

She won't eat food if someone talked near it!

No that’s not OCD.

dont eat out. The chef might have a sweaty forehead.

Exactly this. As I said above, I've probably got a more than averagely relaxed approach to food hygiene, up to obvious limits around raw meat etc. I'm almost never ill. I've had food-related issues once or twice in my fairly well travelled and sociable life. I was properly ill after some prawns in Mexico 25 years ago. And I also remember a rather dodgy stomach (though not full on food poisoning) in a hut in Tanzania in the 90s. I'd much rather relax and enjoy the home cooked food and ignore the negligibily small drop of saliva. We live alongside germs everywhere, all the time. They are a ubiquitous part of life.

If I lived with someone with a compromised immune system then I understand that would be different. But I don't.

There’s never been a food poisoning incident in my house either (hand washing is an absolute must before anyone goes near food), but there’s been several incidents of us having food poisoning when eating in professional eateries. 🫤

The vast, vast majority of food poisoning incidents are from commercial premises. I'll never understand the mentality of people who won't eat in friends/family homes, but will eat in restaurants.

@GlomOfNit

saliva can transmit diseases such as glandular fever

YANBU! I’m ashamed to admit that this is the reason I don’t go round to my dad‘s house as I feel their personal hygiene around the house and in the kitchen is just not good enough so I wouldn’t want to sit in the house or eat or drink from their crockery and utensils. I also have OCD and ADHD.

Via food? I think not.