You Cannot Be Serious! (Sandwich Edition)

[FenigDurak]

Quoth MystyGlyttyr

Other aside: my teacher would go on rather constantly about how nasty Subway stores are, and considering how much I see about them on here, I'm starting to understand his refusal to eat there. ...as long as I don't find a bloody thumb, though, I'm still good with it.

I'm interested now. Do tell!

[Argus]

This discussion (especially the original post) reminds me of a line from the film Twelve Monkeys:

I go in to order a burger at this fast-food joint, and the guy drops it on the floor. James, he picks it up, he wipes it off, he hands it to me like it's all OK. "What about the germs?" I say. He says "I don't believe in germs. Germs is a plot made up so they could sell disinfectants and soaps." Now he's crazy, right?

[Jester]

Quoth MystyGlyttyr

I can't say as I'm ever all that picky about dirty stuff. I've spent enough time in my life having eaten DIRT, and out of dumpsters and whatnot, and I know my internal septic system is quite efficient. That being said...I can very much understand people who ARE squicked out by dirty stuff. If I'm just cooking for myself, I have no problem picking up utensils or even food dropped on the floor and eating it anyway, but when I cook for other people, NO. BIG NO NO.

I am glad you recognize the difference between preparing food for yourself and others.

Whatever your views on personal food preparation, when you are preparing food for other people, especially the paying public, you have to rise to a much higher standard. I am hardly a germophobe, and am not myself above eating stuff I would not serve to friends or family. That being said, I have no personal knowledge of how clean or dirty that particular Subway's floor is....and even if a floor is sparking clean, I am NOT eating anything off of it, or anything prepared with utensils that have been on it.

I have a very simple standard when it comes to the floor. If a utensil has been on it, that utensil must be washed before it can come in contact with the food. If a bar towel has been on the floor, it must go in the dirty linen bag immediately. If any food has been on the floor, even for a second (five second rule my ass), it is by definition now trash, and must immediately go in the trash receptacle.

It is bad enough to think that shenanigans go on like this behind kitchen doors when no one is watching. But how STUPID do you have to be to pick something off the floor and use it in food preparation when you are totally visible to the public you are preparing that food for, as this woman did?

I will not be boycotting this Subway. However, if I walk in and see THAT employee is on the line, I WILL be walking right back out again. They are, after all, right by a supermarket AND a Quizno's.

[patiokitty]

Considering that I work for the chain myself and have seen (and am in the process of correcting, in my store especially) some pretty gross things I'm not entirely surprised by what happened, Jester. And you bring up a very good point - you have no idea just how clean or dirty that floor was so why risk it.

Some locations really are VERY nasty and gross, and a lot of it has to do with the person in charge and the staff under them.

A lot of the stuff comes in pre-packaged - all the staff has to do is portion it out and put it into clean Cambro pans. They are supposed to use fresh gloves, changing them every time they touch something different, for each item. They are also supposed to wash their hands with the supplied anti-bacterial soap before putting on fresh gloves. The only things we have to do in store is slice tomatoes, cukes, red onions, and green peppers, as well as portion out various meats into weighed portions. Fresh gloves for everything and cleaning the equipment properly after use are important. If a knife hits the floor it gets tossed into the wash sink in the back to be washed, rinsed, and sanitized - if it happens during a rush, the knife stays on the floor and pushed out of the way by the employees foot, and only after the rush is over does it get picked up to be promptly tossed in the sink. Anything else is unacceptable.

The training material emphasizes safe food handling procedures - honestly, my tendency is to go above and beyond them simply due to a LOT of food safety courses knocked into my head when I was a youngling. Admittedly, in my own home I am more lax but then I also know just how clean my floors and everything are. When dealing with the public you simply don't pull the same shortcuts you would at home - you can't because the common customer has no idea if you just finished bleaching the floor or simply gave it a quick go-over with cold, gross mop water.

[wolfie]

One other thing to consider is that the customer who witnesses things like this might work for, or be related to someone who works for, the health department. Even if it's an out-of-jurisdiction department (e.g. someone from the Edmonton, Alberta health department stopping in for a sub while on vacation in Florida), they'd be likely to give a "heads up" to their counterpart for the appropriate jurisdiction.

[PepperElf]

back at my first job - pizza - i had a coworker who tried doing that with dough. i wasn't in charge but i made him throw it out anyway.

i mean it's just fucking dough. we had plenty more. it just meant that the single-size pan pizza went through with just 3 slices vs 4. big whoop.

[SongsOfDragons]

Food poisoning is nooooot pleasant. It's icky to the extreme.

I also subscribe to the 'higher level of cleanliness' for when I have guests round. For making nom for me and Housemate, yup I don't wash my hands religiously, if the oven trays/tater tin/George are just about doable with a scrape they're okay, and just get stuff done. I know where it's all been and what's been on it. But for the 26th of May we're having a party for the Eurovision, and I am baking some nice things for everyone beforehand and heating some party food (Sainsbury's mozzerella sticks and cream cheese bites FTW!!) on the night; for that I will wash my hands and make sure the platters are freshly cleaned.

However if stuff goes on the floor it goes in the bin/sink regardless. I don't trust our floor XD

[Jester]

Quoth patiokitty

...you have no idea just how clean or dirty that floor was so why risk it.

I don't care if the floor was sparkling. Despite common perception of me, even if my BEER spilled on the floor, I would not lick it up, no matter how clean the floor was, no matter what the beer was. It's the floor. It's where people walk. After they've walked elsewhere. We don't eat off the floor because it's not the place to eat off of.

And I am not preaching here to others about what they should or shouldn't do, don't get me wrong. The above is merely MY personal philosophy for ME. If anyone else feels like eating off the floor, that is their business. Knock yourself out.

Regardless of personal philosophy, though, when you serve the public, your standards have to be higher, not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it's the freakin' LAW.

Quoth patiokitty

They are supposed to use fresh gloves, changing them every time they touch something different, for each item.

You mean for each sandwich, or for each item on any particular sandwich. Because if you mean the latter, that seems like it would take FOREVER to get a sandwich made, and it seems like a bit of overkill, if you ask me. Also, I have personally never seen that actually happen. Changing gloves between sandwiches, yes, seen that. Also changing gloves between orders, i.e., using the same gloves for all the sandwiches in one order. I don't personally have a problem with that, though I imagine some geromphobes and vegetarians might.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Quoth Mr Hero

Surely you can't be serious.

I am serious. And don't call me Shirley.

[patiokitty]

Generally, they'd prefer that we change our gloves after we complete each order if we aren't in the middle of a rush. During a rush it is supposed to be broken down to one person cutting the bread, another putting on meat and/or cheese, another putting on veggies, another putting on sauces before cutting and wrapping - all to help cut down on cross-contamination. If a customer demands we change our gloves for them then we do it without argument.

What I meant was more during prepping the ingredients in the back - do up a batch of chicken and then change your gloves before handling another meat (as part of the prep for the meats they either get individually wrapped portions or sectioned out into little boats that we then dump onto the bread without touching the meat with our gloved hands while making the sandwich. Really the only time we'd actually be laying hands on the sandwich at all is during the initial cutting, the final cutting, and the wrapping as once it's first cut it goes onto deli paper and taken down the line on that paper (including into the speed oven to be toasted). We also change our gloves between prepping different veggies in the back too.

I agree about not eating off the floor - people track across it all day long! At home I wouldn't think twice about picking a dropped knife off my floor and using it (after giving it a rinse), but I wouldn't do that at work. And, yep, public health and safety standards dictate what flies and what won't when serving food to the public - I think too many people either aren't trained properly or simply don't give a damn.

And for some reason, you never did seem like the sort who'd drink spilled beer off the floor so no worries there