Cross-contamination

anastasiawildflower

Let me preface this by explaining that I work in the hospitality/food industry and am attending culinary school. This afternoon my friend (also in the industry) and I went to lunch at this little bakery/ cafe. While we sat there we were both watching the ladies behind the counter. They were understaffed for a Saturday afternoon and it was terribly hard to find a table to sit at.

There seemed to be one girl covering the sandwich and salad counter. She wasn't overwhelmed, just very attentively working with the customers. But then it happened. I watched her cut two sandwiches with the same knife. I just sat there and begged for them to be the same type of sandwich. Two tuna melts. Okay. I kept watching her and then she made another sandwich and cut it with the same dirty knife (never wiping it off) and then packaged it and yelled "spinach, egg, and cheese." This happened a couple more times. She never took two seconds to wipe off the knife, which isn't the best but it is better than nothing.

My two biggest problems with this is first, as a vegetarian I certainly do not want to taste tuna in my veg sandwich. I didn't order the tuna melt, I don't want it in my sandwich. It is just gross. But secondly, this is a huge issue with cross-contamination. Some folks are allergic to fish, but I bet most people really just wouldn't want that possible bacteria carried over into their food, over and over.

You may be asking about the dilemma. The dilemma to me is that if I address the company about this and later apply for a position at one of their stores, I do not want to seem holier-than-thou and risk not receiving a position. It is a really great place. They probably won't remember me right? Am I the only one who sees this as a serious issue? I know I have my pet peeves, having worked in my own kitchen space, I just need to know if this is really worth it.

hellokathy

Personally, I'm not that picky about food and all, so I wouldn't actually mind. But I can see where you're coming from, especially as a vegetarian.

As far as your concerns go about complaining and later applying for a job...I'd rather think it'd be the other way round. I may not be very picky about these things but most people are, so the people in charge at that place probably like their employees to be careful when it comes to cleanliness. It'd probably make a good impression if you were to point that out.

Redapplecandie

As a former food service employee and culinary school grad, I agree it's a serious issue. There should be different knives for different sandwiches. I understand that this sometimes isn't practical, but at minimum, one knife for veggie sandwiches, one for fish, one for meat.

A friend of mine got seriously sick one time, she was allergic to tuna, and this exact thing happened, only it was at a Subway. It took us quite a bit of brainstorming to track down the exact incident, but we went back to the same store, ordered the same things, and it happened again. This time, we were paying attention and brought it to the managers attention. You never know when someone could be deathly allergic to any ingredient.

SnowWhite824

You probably could have just said something like "Hey, I see that you guys are super busy right now.... And I'm sure that your just distracted, BUT..... I'm a vegatarian, and I see that your not cleaning off the knife after each cut.... I can't have any tuna on my veggies, if you don't mind." If she gave you an additude, tell her your friend from the health department would be happy to clarify the rules for her.

ScatteredThoughts

If you really want to work there, then perhaps you can see about submitting a complaint in a way which can't be traced directly to you. I worked in several restaurants when I was younger. By and large, most of the people tried to do a good job, but there are some things I have seen done that made me not want to be the person eating certain meals which were served. I got into a fight with one guy because he kept sticking his fingers into the chili to check whether or not it was ready; and he was not known for washing his hands on a regular basis.

Write a letter to management, with enough detail that they know you actually witnessed these events.

stephabef

This becomes an even bigger issue when it comes to food allergies or something like Celiac. If I have even a smidgen of week, I get incredibly sick and am knocked out for a day or two. So many kitchens claim to have "gluten free," "peanut free," or "dairy free" items, yet the slightest error can make someone extremely ill. It's frustrating. When I order food at work, I make certain the kitchen uses a separate pan, even if it's to grill a piece of salmon or chicken.

zeeeb

i agree with snow white. just say something, then it's done, and no hard feelings, no grudges held, you must just be the crabby cow of the day, but the next day they've forgotten about you. when you have to write a letter it's just going over the top and causing unessecary agro in my opinion.

on the topic of cross contamination, i think it's very idealistic and "in a perfect world" type arguement.

my partner once got a very serious form of salmonella (serious enough to be investigated by a government agency) caused not from meat, but from lettuce which happened to have animal faeces on it (probably from soil)... and i say *kitten* happens! that's life, sometimes things happen that aren't pleasant or perfect.

personally, i work in the food industry, and i constantly see the butchers cutting all different types of meat with the same knives and not washing them. and i eat the meat from where i work, as do many many many customers who keep coming back week after week, year after year, none of them ever getting sick from having a knife used on red meat, then chicken, then back to red meat.

we have the health inspector in at least twice every year, and they have told the boss that ours is once of the best places in terms of cleanliness in the area we live.

so, yeah, it's a possibility that some kind of bacteria can grow and cause a problem. but honestly, if you think practices are perfect, don't bother eating anything unless you've grown it yourself, because behind closed doors, you have noooooo idea how things are processed and packaged etc.

my partner worked at an abatoir where they kill the animals, and he was fixing things in the toilets (he's a tradesman), he said half the blokes that went to the toilet, didn't even wash their hands. and they are killing, and butchering the meat.

i know you don't eat meat, but the same practices happen at farms with your vegies, pastas, rices, dairy, lentils and fruit products.

there is always a chance that you can stick your hand on a door handle, then put your finger in your mouth and get violently ill. my theory is get over it, i'm not spending my entire life being OCD about germs, i'll hope that my immune system is healthy enough to deal with these perils of life.

if you have an allergy, sure, you have every right to be be vigilant, but, still, accidents can and do happen. humans, one thing we are not, is perfect

_VoV

I don't like it, and particularly at Subway, where you watch your sandwich being made, I have intervened. Frequently, at Subway, they work on two or more orders at the same time. One time, the 'sandwich artist' carefully arranged meat all over the other sandwich, and without changing her gloves, asked what vegetables I wanted. I asked her to complete the other order first, but she asked why. I then had to explain I wanted her to change her gloves before touching my vegetables. Thankfully, the other customer wasn't offended, but I found it embarrassing. And the knife not being wiped off would gross me out too. I have had tuna-scented sandwiches in the past. Yuck!

Oh yes, and I would have said something about it, very politely. Like someone else said here: management is likely to love hiring an employee with cleanliness on their minds.

SmangeDiggs

This happened to me at subway....the person in front of me had a satay chicken sandwich, i had asked the server to change knifes between sandwiches because im allergic to peanuts but got distracted and forgot to check she had....10mins after eating my sandwich i was enjoying a nice ambulance ride to the hospital. \

I would say something to the particular shop because it may save somebody a long wait in hospital

jessylanne

Might be a problem for food allergies I agree. Now, about bacteria... You have something called immune system and that's what it is for!

Staceydoodles

I work in a bagel shop of a similar 'set up' to subway, the whole choose a bread choose a filling watch it be made thing. We have different knives for meat fish and veg, and don't deal with any raw products so you're unlikely to find a dangerous bug germ in our food. Will I change my gloves if someone asks? Of course!! Its your lunch! A happy customer is a customer who comes back! Will I get offended if someone asks me to use a separate knife? No!! I'll usually smile, agree, and pleasantly make conversation about how the green knife is only for veggies. If its busy I'll just say yep no problemo will I pull up a colleague if they use the wrong one? Hell yea! Its my job!

Even rude customers get the all important smile, because at the end of the day they pay my wages lol, but a polite customer means its not a chore to explain and make them feel ok about asking. Most people hate to nag, just be nice about it and there won't be a problem. Don't say, I've noticed you haven't been changing knives, say, please change knives for mine.
Then when you apply and get hired suggest these changes and you'll quickly stand out above your colleagues for promotions ha! Xx

anastasiawildflower

i agree with snow white. just say something, then it's done, and no hard feelings, no grudges held, you must just be the crabby cow of the day, but the next day they've forgotten about you. when you have to write a letter it's just going over the top and causing unessecary agro in my opinion.

on the topic of cross contamination, i think it's very idealistic and "in a perfect world" type arguement.

my partner once got a very serious form of salmonella (serious enough to be investigated by a government agency) caused not from meat, but from lettuce which happened to have animal faeces on it (probably from soil)... and i say *kitten* happens! that's life, sometimes things happen that aren't pleasant or perfect.

personally, i work in the food industry, and i constantly see the butchers cutting all different types of meat with the same knives and not washing them. and i eat the meat from where i work, as do many many many customers who keep coming back week after week, year after year, none of them ever getting sick from having a knife used on red meat, then chicken, then back to red meat.

we have the health inspector in at least twice every year, and they have told the boss that ours is once of the best places in terms of cleanliness in the area we live.

so, yeah, it's a possibility that some kind of bacteria can grow and cause a problem. but honestly, if you think practices are perfect, don't bother eating anything unless you've grown it yourself, because behind closed doors, you have noooooo idea how things are processed and packaged etc.

my partner worked at an abatoir where they kill the animals, and he was fixing things in the toilets (he's a tradesman), he said half the blokes that went to the toilet, didn't even wash their hands. and they are killing, and butchering the meat.

i know you don't eat meat, but the same practices happen at farms with your vegies, pastas, rices, dairy, lentils and fruit products.

there is always a chance that you can stick your hand on a door handle, then put your finger in your mouth and get violently ill. my theory is get over it, i'm not spending my entire life being OCD about germs, i'll hope that my immune system is healthy enough to deal with these perils of life.

if you have an allergy, sure, you have every right to be be vigilant, but, still, accidents can and do happen. humans, one thing we are not, is perfect

Well, I didn't really know if it was my place since I actually hadn't ordered a sandwich. I was just watching the very open sandwich prep area from afar. Cross-contamination is my only real pet peeve. I am not pretentious enough to whine about every little thing, but contaminating things, is a big deal. With butchers cutting all types of meat with a different knife, that meat is more than likely going to be cooked later, whereas these sandwiches were moments away from being given to the customer. It would have taken her a solid 2 seconds just to wipe off the crap on the knife before cutting everyone else's. Maybe I am idealistic and wanting to live in a better world and hope people would spare two seconds to save some people a possible ambulance ride. With my mom and my brother terribly sensitive to food allergies, I guess I just worry more. To me, that two seconds just amplifies the amount of consideration involved in preparing another persons food.

deeharley

If I were worried about cross contamination AT ALL, I would never eat out. NEVER.

Smiler106

If you had a serious allergy it would be foolish to eat out in a place like that anyway. I don't think it's a big deal, and it wouldn't bother me in the slightest.

mommared53

Let me preface this by explaining that I work in the hospitality/food industry and am attending culinary school. This afternoon my friend (also in the industry) and I went to lunch at this little bakery/ cafe. While we sat there we were both watching the ladies behind the counter. They were understaffed for a Saturday afternoon and it was terribly hard to find a table to sit at.

There seemed to be one girl covering the sandwich and salad counter. She wasn't overwhelmed, just very attentively working with the customers. But then it happened. I watched her cut two sandwiches with the same knife. I just sat there and begged for them to be the same type of sandwich. Two tuna melts. Okay. I kept watching her and then she made another sandwich and cut it with the same dirty knife (never wiping it off) and then packaged it and yelled "spinach, egg, and cheese." This happened a couple more times. She never took two seconds to wipe off the knife, which isn't the best but it is better than nothing.

My two biggest problems with this is first, as a vegetarian I certainly do not want to taste tuna in my veg sandwich. I didn't order the tuna melt, I don't want it in my sandwich. It is just gross. But secondly, this is a huge issue with cross-contamination. Some folks are allergic to fish, but I bet most people really just wouldn't want that possible bacteria carried over into their food, over and over.

You may be asking about the dilemma. The dilemma to me is that if I address the company about this and later apply for a position at one of their stores, I do not want to seem holier-than-thou and risk not receiving a position. It is a really great place. They probably won't remember me right? Am I the only one who sees this as a serious issue? I know I have my pet peeves, having worked in my own kitchen space, I just need to know if this is really worth it.

I read this to my son because he studied culinary arts in Job Corps and has worked in different restaurants. He said he would have said something. He said he's actually spoken up about an employee not wearing gloves while working around food at a McDonalds.

christine24t

I've worked at a restaurant before and honestly if the knife is cleaned, it's probably just wiped on an apron so it is "clean" but it's probably not sent through the dishwasher. That doesn't mean it's right but it happens. You could always send an anonymous email from a fake address.