Do you want to know why you get sick in the summer just like you do in the winter? Well, it can’t be the weather. It’s not cold outside. It can’t be your kids bringing home germs from school, unless they’re going to summer school.
So why do you get sick in the summer. The same reason you get sick in the winter. Granted you can catch germs from door knobs and bathroom sinks. Or someone sneezing on the train or in your office, or your immune system could be weak and you just get sick.
Or it could be this,
Most illnesses are transferred due to the lack of discipline your butcher, sandwich maker, deli counter person and yes the cook at your favorite restaurant has when it comes to sterilizing his cutting board and this …
I’ve seen it so many times at a sub shop or in a commercial kitchen. The cook or prep person sneezes into his hand but he’s so busy that he wipes it on his apron. Now he’s cutting tomatoes and you come in and want a sandwich. What does he do? He wipes his knife on his apron and proceeds to make your sandwich. Like his apron is some sort of sanitary haven.
Same goes with cutting boards. Most restaurants and supermarkets keep their employees busy. As the managers watch payroll they want Jose over there to prep up 4 cases of lettuce, two boxes of tomato’s and slice a bag of onions all in about 2 hours.
Do you think Jose is concerned with sanitizing his cutlery and boards? Or do you think he wants to keep his boss off of his ass and get the work done in the required time.
Let’s go to behind the cooks line. Peter works at a place that serves fajitas and it’s busy. Do you think Peter switches between a poultry knife and a beef knife to illuminate the possibility of cross contamination? Or, wipe the cutting service in between the chicken and the steak or whatever else he has cut in the last fifteen minutes.
Oh and what if Peter has the sniffles.
If you get sick all year round it may be as simple as the people that prepare your meals. The kid at Subway, or the Pizzeria you frequent. What about Uncle Bill’s barbecue every Fourth of July. Does Uncle Bill execute clean and safe food handling techniques? How many times does he touch the chicken and then the steaks on the grill with his not so clean hands?
Ok you can’t lock yourself and your family in a bubble.
What you can do is be aware of who’s preparing your food and how they prepare it. Watch the kid making your sandwich. Instead of running through the drive through, go inside and watch the people in the back handle the fries, the burgers and for God sake the salads.
Note: there is no way on God’s green earth I would ever purchase a salad from a fast food restaurant. A Fast food restaurant should be used for one thing only--a pre-cooked, pre-heated limited hand contact--desperate sustenance source.
For one day she might be the one making your oriental salad at Burger King in the near future.
