just a thought... smart people can do shockingly dumb things.

[jess5217]

is it just me, or is everyone else around me crazy and completely stupid when it comes to washing their hands and food safety, expiration dates, ect? this has always been a huge thing for me. people don't get it, but as we all know... it's the root of preventing the v* situation from happening. right? why does it seem like everyone around me was raised like wild savages without anyone to teach them that it's probably not ok to drink that milk in the fridge that expired 2 weeks ago that smells rotten. why??!! why do people do this? people are constantly blowing my mind with this stuff, and i never stick around to find out how it turned out in the end.

example: i was at a baseball game with friends grilling out. of course someone decided to bring raw chicken, which i'm sure wasn't properly stored or washed or anything of that nature, and was probably bought on clearance at walmart or something. not only that but i'm sure they kept it in a cooler with the beer. why do people think that is ok???? "ohhh but it's wrapped in plastic" no... it's going to contaminate everything that is submerged in the nasty cooler that you have never considered to wash and have always transported raw meat in.
anyway, so this girl... she decided she will unwrap, prepare the chicken with her bare hands, put it on the grill... and then surprise surprise.... nowhere to wash her hands!!! nothing but porto-potties... so get this, she wipes them off with a couple if paper towels... then proceeds to stick her hand in the pita chip bag that everyone is eating out of. no one else seemed to mind at all... there were like ten people there. mom's with kids and everything. this is when i attacked her with hand sanitizer. of course i wouldn't go near the pita chip bag. ohhhh and everyone thinks i worry too much. ok it's true, it's all because i'm terrified of catching the dreaded sv or food poisoning.. but seriously, even without the phobia wouldn't you think someone would at least consider trying to avoid it?

does anyone else go through this??? it really doesn't surprise me anymore. i just expect people to have no idea about this stuff... which means i have a really hard time trusting people to prepare food that won't poison me. 3 week old egg salad that's been sitting out for hours? oh and it's probably fine? no thank you, i will starve.

[herbal]

Because vomiting isn't really worth worrying about and most people realize that?

I'm an emet myself, but you can't just expect the world to change because you're anxious about something. It's your job to change yourself.

[jennjt]

I still, though, think food safety should be a part of common sense-- why would anyone intentionally want to be sick? I think a lot of people just don't know! And we probably know too much (about cross-contamination, etc) for our own good :/. I am uncomfortable eating food other people prepare, too. I do it anyway, but I definitely feel anxious. A friend of mine was making a cake for someone while she had a horrible cold / cough. I watched (in horror lol) while she 1st, didn't wash her hands after using the bathroom / before she started cooking; then was hacking all over the batter the whole time she was mixing it; THEN licked batter off the spoon and put it back in to mix some more! That's just irresponsible, to me-- no one wants to be sick!

[bebzorg]

its not only unsafe but just plain gross! who wants to eat pita chips rubbed with raw chicken?! or cake with someones spit and illness baked right in?!

[out_of_order]

I agree that nowadays everyone should know and practice basic food safety. Having said that, we are the "weirdos" with the problem, not them. We need to change more than they do. Let me ask you this - did anyone get sick? Probably not. So as gross as it was, if nobody got sick, what does that tell you?

[jess5217]

it's true... i wish i didn't know as much as i do about food safety. i wish i could be oblivious and not care like everyone else. although, i truly do think it helps prevent people from getting sick when you're careful, and i wish more people were at least mindful about it. i don't mean to be mean... it's just frustrating when is see it all the time. i guess my mom taught me these things growing up and to me it seems like common sense, but i guess it's not that way for everyone. maybe the people who don't know anything about it never get sick so they have no reason to worry, or if they do, they wouldn't even know the cause of it. i guess getting raw chicken all over everything isn't a guarantee that it you will get sick, but it's definitely way upping your chances. i always really try to be chill and not say anything, but it's really hard, and that's why i'm venting about it here my friends and family are totally sick of hearing me say "is this expired? are you sure this is cooked all the way?"

[wanted]

I go through this very often.
At school, we agreed (I didn't,ofc) to eat something someone from the class prepared - every week 3 person change. One day the girl who had to make something said she would prepare some cake if her mother feels better,she had a bad cold. And then she brought that cake. I was scared and surprised! How could she brought us the cake which her sick mother prepared?! Ofc, I didn't eat it. Is she stupid or what? And yes,those days when we had to eat meals, they ate with their dirty hands!! I was the only one who went to the toilete and washed hands. And they even put their hands at others part of the food. I was freaked. I don't understand them,really.
And yes, I'm freaked out when someone asks me for my bottle of water. One girl wanted to drink my water when she had cold and bacteria (throat). I didn't give her and she was like-why? Why,why? Think a little bit.
She didn't have sv,but of course I don't want to have cold and bacteria in my throat!

[Erica1649]

I completely understand what you mean...stomach bug situation or not, salmonella can cause some serious issues for people! It's bad enough I get paranoid when making my own chicken about doneness, cleanliness, etc.

I think some people may take and these arent the right words I'm looking for, but they take it for granted maybe? Or grain of salt? Most people's main concern isn't germs. Also, maybe some people aren't as educated about how germs spread like wildfire perhaps?

[cinque]

Yes, we are the ones with the problem, but I think the people at the OTHER end of the spectrum also have a problem. People really shouldn't mess around with raw chicken because campylobacter, e.coli and salmonella etc. are far worse than noro with the risk of long-term complications. I also think people with noro handling food fits into that category. You just don't do it!

I have a tough time eating foods that others have prepared because I do witness people doing some very thoughtless/careless things with food. I'm sure I take things too far, but I don't think it's asking too much to expect everyone to wash their hands before handling food/utensils etc.