Is food hygiene dead???

~Chameleon~

emmaroids wrote: »

it annoys me when they have all greasy hands and then go and use the salt and pepper grinders.

Nigella is one of the worst culprits for that! I can't bear to watch her at times as her hands seem to be constantly covered in oil/food, and I'm forever screaming at the telly "wash your bl00dy hands woman!!!!" :rolleyes:

beetrootjuicer

Jennifer of the Two Fat Ladies used to make me cringe; beautiful ornate rings on her fingers and long brightly varnished nails. Love both but not on the cook!

pigpen

I don't feel it is a case of being 'dead' I think it is more a case of we are all becoming increasingly obsessed with germ elimination.. a good few bits of bug and bacteria are actually helpful in developing a healthy immune system everything is so sterile and wipe this bleach that and OMG a speck of dirt there is no wonder everyone (bar in my house!) is always ill!!

However, I agree that when being shown on TV they should be shown doing things accordnig to the latest set of 'rules' And the chances of any of these celeb chefs actually getting stuck in in their restaurant kitchens is probably a VERY rare event.

I HAVE to wash my hands after handling raw meat.. it feels gross and leaves a nasty icky residue on your hands.. I wash them after preparing veggies as well.. not because of contamination risk but because they feel dirty.

I have only one chopping board and do veg on one side then flip it over and do meat on the other.. because I don't want mud on my meat.. though TBH a bit of mud isn't that offputting..

Don't ever eat at my house!! lol Your food will have been prepared on a work surface wiped with water only (if I bother at all).. maybe a squirt of stardrops if I collect it from my mothers, will have huge risks of cross contamination and might even have been dropped on the floor, rinsed under the tap, and served anyway!!

So long as it is cooked properly all the bugs should be dead anyway.

pigpen

beetrootjuicer wrote: »

Jennifer of the Two Fat Ladies used to make me cringe; beautiful ornate rings on her fingers and long brightly varnished nails. Love both but not on the cook!

LMAO... you REALLY don't want to come to my house for tea! MSL (nails currently 1 1/4 inches long and painted pink and silver and glittery with black swirlies on!! and 9 rings)

soappie

I've done my advanced food hygiene training and know WHAT to do. And do it if I'm cooking for other people.

However, in my home, and with my family, I've always had a far more relaxed approach to cooking and cleaning. I am firmly of the opinion that, as pigpen said, a little bit of muck is good for you and your immune system.

I remember years ago when my kids were young, they ate dirt, they explored dusty corners, they experimented with all manner of things. I cleaned, yes, but I was not fanatical about it. I made sure everything was properly cooked, but didn't use separate chopping boards or knives for meat/veg etc. They thrived. Never had an upset stomach or anything.

Another mother down the road from me was Miss Perfect with the cleanliness. Surfaces weren't even allowed to have anything settle on them. Dishcloth was kept on the windowledge in a bowl of bleach every day and thoroughly rinsed etc. before being used again.

Her son was constantly ill with stomach bugs etc. I reckon his fledging immune system never had a chance to learn to defend itself - there was nothing to defend in the home but the minute he went out - bang! Everything leapt on him.

It's all a question of degree I think. The hygiene rules need to be very strict for restaurants etc. Particularly as a lot of food is pre-cooked and then reheated later to order. That's the most dangerous part of cooking - leaving it a while and reheating. But, if it's straight on the plate after cooking and still hot, the dangers are minimised.

I also think it's more important that the TV chefs are showing people how to cook from scratch and giving them, possibly, the encouragement to try so that they don't do so much nuking of ready made stuff which, if not heated properly, would probably do them far more damage than forgetting to wash their hands between cutting meat and chopping veg.

There, my tuppence worth.

I'll get my coat......

thriftlady_2

soappie wrote: »

I've done my advanced food hygiene training and know WHAT to do. And do it if I'm cooking for other people.

However, in my home, and with my family, I've always had a far more relaxed approach to cooking and cleaning. I am firmly of the opinion that, as pigpen said, a little bit of muck is good for you and your immune system.

I remember years ago when my kids were young, they ate dirt, they explored dusty corners, they experimented with all manner of things. I cleaned, yes, but I was not fanatical about it. I made sure everything was properly cooked, but didn't use separate chopping boards or knives for meat/veg etc. They thrived. Never had an upset stomach or anything.

Another mother down the road from me was Miss Perfect with the cleanliness. Surfaces weren't even allowed to have anything settle on them. Dishcloth was kept on the windowledge in a bowl of bleach every day and thoroughly rinsed etc. before being used again.

Her son was constantly ill with stomach bugs etc. I reckon his fledging immune system never had a chance to learn to defend itself - there was nothing to defend in the home but the minute he went out - bang! Everything leapt on him.

It's all a question of degree I think. The hygiene rules need to be very strict for restaurants etc. Particularly as a lot of food is pre-cooked and then reheated later to order. That's the most dangerous part of cooking - leaving it a while and reheating. But, if it's straight on the plate after cooking and still hot, the dangers are minimised.

I also think it's more important that the TV chefs are showing people how to cook from scratch and giving them, possibly, the encouragement to try so that they don't do so much nuking of ready made stuff which, if not heated properly, would probably do them far more damage than forgetting to wash their hands between cutting meat and chopping veg.

There, my tuppence worth.

I'll get my coat......

Well said, this has been my attitude too. I should say that I am much more careful when cooking for guests -I don't taste and put spoons back in the pot etc

Bogof_Babe

What turns my stomach is when chefs on TV touch their noses before or during handling food. You know, that little automatic swipe of the nostrils between finger and thumb. Yuk!

I also hate it when checkout operators do the same, or worse still blow their noses just before they start serving me :eek: . I won't buy a baguette unless both ends are totally covered by the wrapper, even if it means I get a slightly shorter one off the shelf.

nickyhutch

TV chefs are there to teach us to cook, not how and when to wash our hands.

Bogof_Babe

Agreed, but if we can't cook without giving people food poisoning, I'd rather they didn't bother.

thriftlady_2

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

What turns my stomach is when chefs on TV touch their noses before or during handling food. You know, that little automatic swipe of the nostrils between finger and thumb. Yuk!

I also hate it when checkout operators do the same, or worse still blow their noses just before they start serving me :eek: . I won't buy a baguette unless both ends are totally covered by the wrapper, even if it means I get a slightly shorter one off the shelf.

But how do you know the person who packed it hadn't just blown their nose, or worse, or the person who put the apples/carrots/onions etc on the shelf ?