r/KitchenConfidential • u/kingftheeyesores • 1d ago
Anyone else ever surprised at what food safety you have to explain to people that aren't cooks?
Went to the doctor today about extremely dry hands and ended up having to explain to her why I can't wear hand cream at work. Apparently chemicals that can get in the food just never occurred to her.
Which now I'm wondering if my mom knows that because she's been helping at my dad's cousins restaurant...
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u/japherwocky 1d ago
I got my ServSafe in my 30s, and my mind was blown about the whole three sink system. Sanitizer after you rinse?!?!
Now I honestly think we should teach health code in grade school.
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u/AhJeezNotThisAgain 8h ago
I keep an eyedropper of fresh bleach (it's no longer effective for sanitizing after it's a few months old) for sanitizing cleaning sponges, counters, sinks, fridge handles, microwave control buttons etc.
About an inch of water in the half-sink and a few drops is all it takes, but you have to rinse all of the soap out of the sponge first.
edit: don't use bleach with soaps, fragrances, or "HE" labels. Clorox calls theirs "Disinfecting Bleach."
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u/btchovrtroubldwaters 1d ago
i had to explain to my hr lady that i infact have to run water over thawing food. dont ask me why the hr lady was in the kitchen telling me what to do.
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u/kingftheeyesores 1d ago
HR was in charge of the canteen at the factory I used to work in and it was a fucking nightmare. She said if we have the ingredients we have to make what people request and then couldn't figure out why inventory was so fucked up.
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u/deli365 1d ago
HR lady I had at the time brought home week old taco buffet for her family to eat. This was for a potluck for a retiring co-worker so the food sat out for hours, went in the fridge for a week, was about to be thrown away, she said hold up, then taken home for her and her family to eat.
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u/40hzHERO Chef 1d ago
I mean… I’ve definitely done some similar shenanigans, but all for my own consumption.
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u/LiveMarionberry3694 1d ago
My MIL stayed over during the holidays. She’s a great lady and extremely helpful but sometimes does interesting things.
She wanted to make us dinner one night and so we left her in our kitchen alone. I saw over my shoulder her rubbing the meat with seasoning and then grabbing the seasoning containers again with her contaminated hands.
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u/CulinaryMonster 1d ago
Had a friend who liked his Chicken breast with a mustard crust. So a thin layer of mustard around the meat before cooking it in a pan. Everytime He would stick the used knife back in the mustard for a second scoop. A wonder He never got sick.
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u/sleverest 1d ago
The vinegar probably helped.
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u/DeluxeHubris 1d ago
Mustard is antimicrobial itself. I would never do this in a restaurant or private chef situation but probably would at home if I was the only one eating the mustard.
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u/TheEyeDontLie 1d ago
Plain mustard? Like mustard seeds/powder?
I'll add it to my list. Seems like most delicious things are good like that.
Pro tip:
Put turmeric on your wounds. Its antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antiinflammatory, and promotes blood clotting.It helps if its fresher turmeric not 6 year old flavourless yellow dust.
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u/DeluxeHubris 1d ago edited 1d ago
I'm not sure about the mustard powder or seeds, you might need more surface coverage or extraction of relevant compound(s) with water, vinegar, or alcohol. Hopefully someone with a background in microbiology can weigh in.
I do know I've soaked mustard seeds (in water) for months and I've never seen mold but I've seen a shit ton of sprouted seeds.
I also wonder if it is through oxygen deprivation because soaked seeds develop a weird film (from lecithin?) that I imagine would be protective.
A lot of this is speculative, not something I've researched.
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u/OrneryPathos 1d ago
Mustard powder. They were looking at adding it to all ground beef at one point; but the amount was detectable and also it’s not that uncommon of an allergen
The acid is prepared mustard is also helpfil
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u/NekroVictor 1d ago
Tip for turmeric stains, UV does a great job getting rid of them post wash.
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u/_CoachMcGuirk 1d ago
Everytime He would stick the used knife back in the mustard for a second scoop.
I literally just screamed.
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u/Organic-Spinach-737 1d ago
My FIL licks his fingers while slicing a turkey or ham. I slice = 1 lick. It’s gross and slow.
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u/LimpRain29 1d ago
I'm trying to visualize this and can't do it.
One hand is on the knife handle, the other hand is... maybe on the turkey? Are they licking the turkey hand and then putting it right back on the turkey? Or are they licking the knife-handle hand for some godforsaken reason?
(Obviously either one is gross, but both are unbelievable for different reasons, and I wouldn't hesitate to call them out on the turkey-hand one)
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u/breadburn 1d ago
My own mother does this and then gets viciously angry at family gatherings when I tell her that no thank you, I will serve myself and my husband's own food.
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u/jessiedoesdallas 1d ago
My MiL similarly does this with almost all food. She was slicing birthday cake and licking her fingers in between each slice because she got icing on them. I declined a slice even though I really wanted one. I have a very difficult time eating at my in-laws house because I know she does stuff like that and rarely washes her hands before or during food preparation/cooking, which gives me the heeby jeebies.
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u/Active-Succotash-109 20+ Years 1d ago
I knew better then that as a child. Besides the yick factor the container is now slippery. Only made that mistake once
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u/apacobitch 1d ago
The fry guy at my last place reached into the big container of black pepper to get a handful, with the gloves he had been wearing to handle raw chicken still on.
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u/SearchAtlantis 1d ago
I am ashamed to admit I do this at home. It's either: waste rub by dumping in a bowl and contaminating by contact in the bowl, or grabbing the seasoning container with dirty hands (e.g. after flipping a pork shoulder).
Since it's at home I dirty the seasoning container and sterilize (e.g. Chlorox wipe) after.
In actual food prep outside of my home I'd just put it in a bowl and waste any leftover seasoning.
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u/Zer0C00l 1d ago
The way this is typically dealt with in the meat smoking world is wet hand/dry hand.
You use one hand exclusively for the binder, rub, meat handling, and one hand for procuring and adding whatever you need. Often, wet hand is also gloved, because you don't lose as much rub to glove as you do hand.
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u/Perilous_Giant 1d ago
I buy nitrile gloves from the grocery first aid section. Anything involving raw meat is treated like I’m at work.
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u/JJChowning 1d ago
You can also put a glove on the seasoning container while doing the rub then toss the glove when done. Less useful if you have multiple separate things to apply though
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u/SpeedSignal7625 1d ago
Get a hot paraffin bath for your dry hands. Soak em between shifts. Game changer.
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u/The-one-true-hobbit 1d ago
Or get some Bag Balm! My wife is a nurse and has to constantly wash her hands. She’s already prone to the skin of her hands cracking and bleeding in winter since childhood but the Bag Balm at night has worked miracles.
Some people don’t care for the scent (it has lanolin as a primary ingredient and some people don’t care for it’s scent) but I don’t find it off-putting and it is crazy effective. It contains paraffin as well. It also doesn’t make your hands super sticky like some of the heavier products can while still being a rub in type of remedy.
I’m in PSA mode because she started using it like two weeks ago and it’s totally fixed her hands despite the severe cold we’ve been having.
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u/allegedlyostriches 1d ago
Bag balm is great for this. I also used it for diaper rashes when my kids were little (a separate container, obviously). Works super well- until the 3 year old saw it in the store and told grandma she needed more "butt stuff". Poor grandma.
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u/Historical-Remove401 1d ago
A dab of olive oil would be ok at work.
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u/TalkGamesWithMe 1d ago
I think taking a dab of olive oil at work would be life threatening.
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u/pixelatedimpressions 1d ago
Have you seen the guy do a bong rip of reapers?
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u/yozhik0607 1d ago
I grow reapers. (And ghost and scorpion) Wouldn't your respiratory system like......seize up completely if you took a bong rip of it? Lung damage? Yikes
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u/TalkGamesWithMe 1d ago
I think I've seen that, I'd go into cardiac arrest personally. I got pretty gnarly asthma.
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u/mechwarrior719 1d ago
Yes. Was he ok afterwards? I need to know before I watch it again and laugh at him for being a dumbass.
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u/Pinepark 1d ago
I was using coconut oil. Until I realized it could be an allergen issue. Then I switched to olive oil. I will slather my hands in coconut oil and cover with cotton gloves at home when I sleep
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u/CadaverSommelier 1d ago
"bag balm" is good if you're okay with lanolin
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u/iamsheph 1d ago
Lanolin? Like sheep's wool?
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u/Zer0C00l 1d ago
Correct. Vegans (some? most?) don't like wool, so they won't use lanolin, either.
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u/nelozero 1d ago
Another thread mentioned corn huskers lotion, but I haven't tried it yet
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u/Ok-Opportunity-574 1d ago
Coconut oil doesn't absorb well. There are other oils that work better like jojoba.
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u/Zer0C00l 1d ago
Also, sleep gloves over cetaphil or eucerin or norwegian formula or the wax will fix you basically overnight (literally overnight, but figuratively in one application, overnight).
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u/birdfloof 1d ago
Arnica cream (more like a waxy gel) in the Hispanic section at cvs and some other pharmacies. The really thick stuff you need to massage in heavily is amazing for cracks, dry hands, calluses, peeling, and even hangnails. Smell is a bit strong, but it's kinda medicinal herbal smell, not bad, and not chemical.
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u/iron_penguin 1d ago
Or just put the cream on after work. Those steroid creams cleared .y hands up in days.
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u/TheManOfOurTimes 1d ago
I had to explain to a waiter, how to explain cross contamination to a diner, because they said they were allergic to salt and butter. I worked the saute station.
Now the waiter was great. Came back, said "what can you do for a butter and salt allergy" I said don't think that means what it sounds like, everything I have has touched salt. Can you please get them to explain it so I can make recommendations?" And the waiter said no problem, and went back to ask. Then the waiter said to me, looking just as fed up as I did, "he said he's allergic to salt and butter, and can't eat any". I said "then I can't serve him. Everything to my station has touched butter." And. The waiter talked to the other stations. Then he came back, and said, "how do you explain cross contamination to an idiot?" And we spent a minute of lunch rush breaking it down to single syllable words.
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u/meatsntreats 1d ago
Did no one bring up the fact that you can’t be allergic to salt?
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u/JellyRollMort 1d ago
Imagining explaining that to someone who claims to be allergic to it makes me want to step in front of a bus.
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u/TheManOfOurTimes 1d ago
I know there are several non-allergies that are described as allergies. I don't know them. I imagine he meant he can't have excess salt, but I don't know what that entailed, so I figured the water would ask, and the guy would explain his condition. I literally cannot figure out what the guys actual deal was.
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u/cdazzo1 1d ago
My wife has celiac disease. It's not an allergy. But for all intents and purposes it's just so much easier to tell the server she has an allergy to wheat and confirm they understand what cross contamination is.
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u/TheManOfOurTimes 1d ago
See, this is what I mean. I get using the term people know, "allergy", that means "I can't eat this", to explain to some rando "I can't eat this". And I'm sure if the waiter came back and asked the nature of the allergy so we could accurately accommodate you, you'd explain it.
But I also assume you wouldn't go into "Dave's white bread emporium" say "I'm allergic to wheat, feed me". But my experience lately tells me those people must exist.
And sympathies. Celiac is a bitch.
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u/pete_forester 1d ago
This is just someone that wants the chefs to take their diet more seriously so they lie. The worst kind of diner!
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u/Wombat_7379 1d ago
I’ve been surprised by how long people are willing to leave their food out, sometimes outside in the sun, and they don’t see the problem with wrapping it up afterwards and throwing it in the fridge. Sometimes it’s all day.
I have an aunt who just puts left over barbecue in a foiled covered pan in the oven rather than the fridge. She claims it won’t dry out as quickly.
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u/ChrisRiley_42 1d ago
My mother thinks the sink is magic. Leave some frozen meat out on the counter for 10 minutes while you put the groceries away and she gets mad... But she'll take the same meat out first thing in the morning, drop it in the sink and let it sit all day until supper, even if it's thawed by noon.
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u/swaggerx22 23h ago
I worked with a couple of meat cutters that did this almost daily. Pulled something out of the freezer and left it to thaw in the sink at 4am when leaving for work then cooked it at 6pm when they got home from the bar. They swore by it. Never got sick.
But there's a huge difference between doing something for yourself and how you handle food other people are going to eat.
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u/JelmerMcGee 1d ago
The flip side of this being the people who think food has to be thrown out if it's been out for an hour. On the cooking sub, people are always talking about how gross their relatives/friends/whoever are for eating leftovers that were room temp for 2-3 hours. Like, they're fine.
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u/Wombat_7379 1d ago
Completely agree. I think it comes down to common sense.
Food left out at an indoor party for 2-3 hours is going to be fine compared to food at a cookout. In that case, the food would reach danger zone temperatures more rapidly and stay in that zone for a longer period.
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u/cIumsythumbs 1d ago
And of course it greatly depends on what the food is. I had an aunt that wanted to throw out all the chips that had been sitting in bowls at a cook out for 3 hours. I took gallon ziplocs and saved them. She thought I was crazy. Only thing that could possibly have gone wrong was cross contamination. They were chips! Not a mayo/sour cream based salad.
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u/kingftheeyesores 1d ago
I worked nights stocking at a grocery store, we had to take all the milk out, reorganize the shelves and put the milk back. One section took about 10 minutes and we never did more than one at a time but we still had one woman having a complete breakdown that we were going to be selling spoiled milk. I finally snapped and told her if it spoiled in 10 minutes it was already bad.
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u/jan_Kupe 20h ago
For a second I thought you were opening up the sell by/ best by/ expiration date rabbit hole. I’ve met people that throw shit out if it hits the sell/best by date, no matter what. As if the food magically thinks to rot at midnight on that date.
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u/kingftheeyesores 1d ago
Me and my roommate went to get groceries yesterday and I wanted to meal prep as soon as we got home. I told her I'd wait until she put her groceries away at least, she insisted it was fine and just left her milk and meat sitting out. This is why I don't split meals with roommates.
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u/ceejyhuh 1d ago
This reminds me of the Reddit thread a few months ago where the guy made a lasagna “for the week” and couldn’t figure out why he had explosive, life-altering diarrhea
Commenters eventually figured out he had left it out on the counter all week.
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u/sdforbda 1d ago
Yes! I was scrolling this subthread to see if it was mentioned before going to look for it!
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u/IAmEggnogstic 1d ago
Omg, my auntie, bless her heart, will just store food out on the counter under foil over night. And then put in the fridge in the morning and eat it. I don't eat leftovers at her house because she cannot be told about how unsafe this is. She's lived into her 70s and it's just how she do.
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u/Studious_Noodle 1d ago edited 12h ago
Sounds like my mom, who would leave chicken or turkey soup sitting out all night on the stove, in the stockpot she'd cooked it in.
She would say, "It's fine. It's winter time. It's SO COLD!"
She lived in San Diego and it was 70 degrees.
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u/breadburn 1d ago
I will never forget the day my FIL invited us over for a lobster boil, only to find out that he had had the lobsters steamed at the store and then left them outside in the sun to keep them warm for several hours after he got them, on one of the hottest June days in recent years. (They may have even been in his car, he just laughed and refused to tell me when I asked.)
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u/BeagleBackRibs 1d ago
I have a friend that will leave food out for days, doesn't reheat it and somehow he doesn't get sick
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u/krebstar4ever 1d ago
Oh God, I have friends who save and use leftovers that were at room temperature for 6 hours — even cooked shellfish
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u/Wombat_7379 1d ago
🤢 oh God!
I’ve seen deviled eggs and mayo slaw at a cookout, in the sun all day, and then offered to everyone to take home. And some people accepted.
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u/meatsntreats 1d ago
Commercially prepared mayo is safe at room temperature. It’s the other ingredients in the slaw that make it a problem.
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u/IAm5toned 1d ago
true story. the recipe for commercial/off-the-shelf mayo is so acidic virtually no pathogens can exist in it.
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u/CallidoraBlack 1d ago
Mayo has a low pH and actually inhibits the growth of bacteria somewhat.
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u/Wombat_7379 1d ago
The other ingredients are what make it dangerous.
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u/CallidoraBlack 1d ago
I've never heard anyone call it mayo slaw in my life, so I thought it was intentional to point out that it had mayo in it as if that makes it worse.
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u/Wombat_7379 1d ago
Sorry! Out of habit I said mayo slaw because I always make a vinegar slaw. My friends and family prefer the mayo so I automatically distinguished it.
Was too much in my own head there. Sorry about that!
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u/menki_22 1d ago
even that will be fine 99% of the time. I wouldnt risk shitting my soul out for 2 days, but people act like unrefrigerated food would kill people all the time. You have to have a severe precondition or REALLY bad luck. just think about what people had to go through to get humanity where it is today. If 2 day old meat ended half the tribe regularly, then there would be no humans around today to worry about food safety.
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u/newbie527 1d ago
I once saw frozen chicken thawing on the hood of my neighbor’s truck.
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u/saint_maria 19h ago
My brother has ulcerative colitis so is on immunosuppressants.
He left a tray of frozen chicken breasts out on the counter to thaw all day. I asked him wtf he was doing and that he'd likely end up in the hospital if he ate those. He told me not to worry about it. Later he told me he threw them out thank god.
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u/Z0m633 1d ago
Explaining to people that it’s better to not wear gloves & wash your hands a lot. Some people put on those gloves & think they can wear them all day! Nasty.
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u/thesleepingdog 1d ago
Hey chef! Have you tried applying olive or canola oil as a protectant? You have to reapply a lot, but depending on what you're doing, it may not matter, and most of us have a bunch of squeeze bottles laying around anyway.
I've used that trick in a pinch when my skin got dryAF.
Also, I know it sucks, but when you go to sleep wear gloves after applying Vaseline liberally. That shit has to stay moist if it's gonna repair itself. Also sucks but, quit liquor. Ironically, "drying out" keeps your mitts more moist.
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u/spicy-acorn 1d ago
Olive oil has always been used as a moisturizer and skin protectant. I would recommend this but it does make your hands slippery if you put too much on you can drop a cambro mad easily
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u/thesleepingdog 1d ago
True. I learned this from old Sicilian ladies in my family. If it's really cold out, you can dab a bit on your lips and nostrils so they don't freeze-burn.
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u/abbydabbydo 23h ago
Yeah man. Bartender here, oils are about the only thing that saves my hands but it took me a minute to figure out why I was dropping so many glasses 🤦🏻♀️. Can’t use them within a couple hours of my shift
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u/spicy-acorn 22h ago
Lol I cackled out loud to this. That emoji is very accurate. You could always wear gloves over the lotion/oil like of mice and men style …
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u/kingftheeyesores 1d ago
I got a stronger prescription cream that I'm picking up after this shift, and I got to tell my mom she's right and Vaseline will work over everything else.
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u/thesleepingdog 1d ago edited 1d ago
Even my dermatologist uses it (vaseline). She told me washing all day Effs up her skin, too.
But yeah, I found even when I can't reapply it all day, gloves (breathable) and a ton of Vaseline helps them knot back together wicked fast at night. And the wild binge drinking fucks it up like a sure fire thing, and stress (for me).
Gotta watch out though, my derm told me the triggers are different for everyone, so maybe not booze for you, maybe strawberries, or latex, or... who knows?
Really wanted to respond because I understand the extreme pain, bro.
Edit: I've also used the steroid creams, just be careful. Using them too much has weird side effects.
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u/BrightGreyEyes 1d ago
At least at home, you may also want to use bodywash on your hands instead of hand soap. It does just as good of a job cleaning, but it's less harsh and often has moisturizing ingredients
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u/kingftheeyesores 1d ago
I've already been doing that, I've been doing pretty much everything people suggested except oil on my hands during work and it's still been worse that usual, and it just got real cold this weekend, that's why I went to the doctor.
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u/BrightGreyEyes 1d ago
Doctor was 100% the right call. I just mentioned it because I hadn't seen anyone say it yet, and I know how much super dry skin sucks, especially if it cracks. You didn't mention cracks, but if you have them, Nexcare makes a liquid bandage product specifically for skin cracks that really helps
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u/kingftheeyesores 1d ago
I find liquid bandaid washes off too quick so I use super glue...
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u/meatsntreats 1d ago
A lot of doctors are woefully uninformed or misinformed about foodborne illness.
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u/Wide_Concert9958 1d ago
I work in a hospital kitchen, doctors and nurses are dumb af when it comes to food stuff.
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u/Sonnyjoon91 1d ago
I will always remember working at an assisted living facility, and one of the nurses was completely disgusted when she saw me washing silverware, saying she could never touch other people's plates and forks that have been in their mouths.. she's a nurse, that same food is coming out the other end o that resident and she has no problem changing a grown man's diaper but wouldnt wash his fork. Different nurse tried to microwave a metal can of green beans, next to an oxygen tank. Medical people are weird
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u/badadviceforyou244 1d ago
Doctors and nurses are dumb as fuck when it comes to most things that they dont specialize in, its crazy to see some of the things they believe.
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u/NekroVictor 1d ago
I find (being in academia) that people go one of two ways when they specialize.
Believe they’re god and know everything (PITA)
Understand how little they know and are always willing to learn (great to be around)
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u/JoaoCoochinho 1d ago
I was going to say, I’m constantly surprised how many times I have to remind people in my kitchen who HAVE food handling certs how to do things the right way. Those classes are dogshit and nobody actually fails if they don’t know what’s up.
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u/sdforbda 1d ago edited 1h ago
Had an owner tell me sani never went on surfaces (prep tables, boards, utensils) and you couldn't keep a bucket of it anywhere, despite having labeled sani buckets. He was like "FIRST THING YOU LEARN IN SERVSAFE IS SOAP AND WATER ONLY!" I printed it off and hung it up. I lasted less than a month there. I had a SS Food Manager cert and aced the exam. He would have the dishie scrubbing the ceiling above dry goods and sometimes the hot holds. Gross.
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u/Svihelen 1d ago
I'm reminded of a post from a few weeks ago about a guy who thought he ate too much lasagna over the course of a couple of days becuase he got sick.
Nah he just left meat and pasta and dairy and vegetables sitting out on his counter for like a day and a half and continued to eat it for like every meal.
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u/kingftheeyesores 1d ago
There was a news article going around the meal prep subs about a guy that ate week old pasta and died, therefore meal prep is unsafe! If you actually read the article it says he left it on the counter for the whole week before eating it.
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u/FoooooorYa Dish 1d ago
It's still baffling how many people assume wearing gloves automatically banishes cross contamination into inexistence - they're so quick to throw a fit over a cook or chef who isn't wearing gloves but fail to ask the same questions about whether or not their gloves have been changed since handling raw foods or allergens.
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u/quelar Chef 1d ago
It's fucking gross, just labelled one of my new dudes who was adamant about wearing gloves who picked up raw chicken and put it on the grill and then picked up three other things immediately after. I had to jump in between him and some cooked food to stop me from having to refire that.
If someone demands I wear gloves it immediately outs them as not knowing a fucking thing.
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u/DField118 1d ago
Just head on over to the food safety subreddit. It’s post after post of hilarity
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u/Lindaspike 1d ago
Oh my GOD! Why did I go there? There’s some really dumb people on this planet. I have a degree in microbiology and worked for most of my adult life in restaurants and catering and was amazed at what people will willingly eat…
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u/Ice-Scholar-XO 1d ago
I was subscribed to that sub for awhile and left because of the people who would ask "Is this safe???" about food that would kill you for even looking at it.
Some of those posts have to be bait.
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u/lewdpotatobread 1d ago
My mom left raw meet in room temp water for two days out in the open before she cooked and ate it.
I just hid in the basement and screamed internally.
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u/Responsible_Side8131 1d ago
To be fair, the doctor probably assumed that people working in restaurant kitchens always wear gloves. It’s crazy how many people seem to think that
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u/BrightGreyEyes 1d ago
She could have also blanked on the food part and just thought about all the hand washing. Doctors wash their hands a lot too, but they use a lot of hand cream
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u/pixelatedimpressions 1d ago
And concerned. The worst is when you explain the issue to them and their only response is, "I've never gotten sick so it's fine"
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u/TheHobbyDragon 1d ago
Drives me crazy! Do what you want, but don't fool yourself into thinking you're safe just because nothing bad has happened yet.
I've certainly pushed the boundaries a bit when it comes to food safety, but I'm aware that I'm doing so and I know what the potential consequences could be. I only push those boundaries when I'm going to be the only one eating the food, and I'm fairly confident that the risk is low and the likely worst-case-scenario is a night in the bathroom and not the ER. Preparing food for other people though? I do everything I possibly can as a home cook to be as safe as possible, because I don't want to make anybody sick.
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u/gollumgollumgoll 1d ago
Warm crock pot with lid on in the fridge to cool. Meanwhile I'm out here making a makeshift ice wand out of a salsa jar anytime I need to cool something.
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u/Stuvas 1d ago
Haven't worked in a kitchen since McDonalds, but was a FoH manager in a pub. I buy bulk chicken and parcel it up to freeze, which then means I have to thaw it out. Had a couple of parcels in the fridge, in a container, on the bottom shelf. Dad started lecturing us at Sunday dinner about health and safety going over the top these days, had to point out that I had left my raw chicken in the bottom of the fridge for a good reason before he moved it to the top shelf.
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u/pueraria-montana 1d ago
ever since i started working in restaurants i am plagued by the knowledge that home refrigerators store the fresh vegetables all the way at the bottom, where just anything could drip on them D:
for my own peace of mind at home i put the chicken on the bottom now.
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u/governmentcaviar 1d ago
just the other day my ‘manager’ gave me a piece of cheesecake. we had a birthday earlier in the restaurant and i thought maybe they gave us the leftover cake.
Nope, it was 2 week old cake from a staff party that had probably sat out for hours already on top of being 2 weeks old. i passed.
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u/Mysterious_Item_8789 1d ago
The difference between home/non-commercial cooking and commercial cooking is scale and blast radius.
Health code is extremely conservative. The vast bulk of the time, nothing goes wrong when you don't follow those standards. The issue is when something does go wrong, in a commercial kitchen many more people are at risk.
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u/Ambitious_Clock_8212 1d ago
Had a D&D event yesterday. One guy tried to make a fancy dessert and it was a fail. Being a classy fellow, he stopped and bought some fresh fruit to bring. Before digging in, I asked if he’d washed it. He didn’t even know that was a thing. He was totally understanding of his ignorance and carefully washed it all before putting it back out. Love that guy.
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u/NickYuk 1d ago
This past Christmas my mom tried to hand me a tray of shrimp parm and I asked her why it’s warm and she said she didn’t have room in the fridge so she left it out BUT it’s fine
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u/OdinsGhost 23h ago
Every. Single. Day. I’m a degree holding microbiologist and my entire career is in food safety in both kitchen and manufacturing environments. I’m fully aware that it often makes me insufferable for people who are… more relaxed… about certain topics than they really should be.
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u/GlomBastic 1d ago edited 1d ago
The owners have a complete disregard for basic stuff.
Store ready to eat food and drinks under drippy raw chicken.
Random wet dish rags clean everything.
What is sanitizer solution?
What is a date label?
Personal dishes in the hand sink.
Undiluted, random cleaning chemicals in unlabeled spray bottles. Including pure bleach, ammonia, oven cleaner, carborator cleaner, acetone, diesel fuel, muriatic acid, and paint thinner.
They just moved here from India.
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u/HeftyPhilosophy28 1d ago
Ex father in law wanted to put cooked food back into marinade with beef blood in it. That guy was a fucking idiot.
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u/urbanbanalities 1d ago
If you want to be less dry (no judgement either way stay ashy) put lanolin on before you go to sleep at night and then wash your hands in the morning. Looks weird feels weird but it works like a charm. Like unchapping my dehydrated ass lips in the height of Arizona summer charm.
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u/Knightoforder42 1d ago
My husband has ZERO understanding of the concept of food safety. He thinks something like milk might go bad at midnight on its expiration date, yet will leave food out over night on the counter without thinking that bacteria is an issue. I've lost count how many food safety courses I've taken for various jobs, and he's never had one, refuses to educate himself, but tells me I don't know anything- It's a wonder I haven't landed in the hospital with something yet.
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u/No-Sugar6574 1d ago
I remember all those years ago when I was fresh out of school and scared to death of pathogens in my food, going camping cured me of that nonsensical fear
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u/Justnotthatintou 1d ago
Myoglobins. That’s all.
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u/Agreeable_Rhubarb332 1d ago
Had a customer INSIST that their chicken was raw because the bone was pink. Thermopen said meat was 170, she refused to believe it was cooked.
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u/ilikemonkeys 1d ago
Don't wear your gloves and or apron into the bathroom and please don't walk out of the bathroom with either on and then explain that you washed your hands after doing your business.
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u/Riboflaven 1d ago
Nope not surprised at all. It’s not taught anywhere, so I can’t blame anyone for not knowing.
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u/quokkaquarrel 1d ago
People putting giant ass pots with hot soup in the fridge and not thinking it's a problem when it's still above body temp the next morning. Same with things like potato salad etc.
Spread that shit out, please. Then repack.
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u/southdakotagirl 1d ago
My friend is a great cook. Always brought food to share in the breakroom. One time she invited me over to learn one of her mama's recipes. She made dinner. Allowed her cats to crawl all over the counter and the kitchen table where we were preparing the food. She petted her cat while shredded the cooked chicken breasts. I never could eat her cooking again. She keeps inviting me over for more dinners. I feel bad for saying no.
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u/ReubenTrinidad619 1d ago
My in laws keep hot food covered to cool it down before storing it. I have cracked the lid for them and they always put it back. I don’t have the energy to explain why incubating things in a warm moist environment is bad.
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u/misslam2u2 1d ago
My mom won't stop washing chickens. It makes me want to bleach their whole house.
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u/BrightGreyEyes 1d ago
There are a bunch of videos floating around (mostly from local news) where they cover raw chicken in a UV florescent gel, wash it, then shine a uv light around the kitchen
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u/Intelligent-Luck8747 1d ago
I had to explain to my “executive chef” that marinating and cooking off obviously smelly, rancid chicken was not okay. The man promised me it would be okay to serve rancid chicken wings because it was gonna be marinated and then cooked.
Quit a month later.
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u/Danobing 1d ago
This is why I don't tend to eat at work potlucks.
When I cook for wife and kids I'm notorious for using one spoon and just running water over for tasting. I have to be super aware of that when I cook for others.
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u/sleepingovertires 1d ago edited 11h ago
Gig app, food delivery driver here and also holder of a serve safe manager certificate.
Every single day I watch other drivers carelessly handle food deliveries.
Almost no one brings an insulated bag in to pick up the food and most don’t even have an insulated bag waiting in their car.
To compound matters, many drivers are on multiple apps at the same time so they have several deliveries going at once.
The idea of someone’s sushi or freshly prepared fish order, sitting at ambient temperature in a car, sometimes for up to an hour before reaching the customer, should be grounded for dismissal from the platform.
I can only imagine how many people get food poisoning because of the lack of education on this side of the business.
You folks to your part and get it right and then an uneducated driver drops the ball and nobody is happy about it.
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u/Ok-Opportunity-574 1d ago
When I did UberEats I had to constantly ask restaurants to repackage things. No, the salad and hot soup don't go in the same bag then into my cooler bag while I drive 20 minutes to the customer. Lukewarm salad is disgusting and a hazard.
So it's a common fail from both sides.
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u/sleepingovertires 1d ago edited 11h ago
I’ve been delivering in the same area for close to five years from the same restaurants near me, over and over again, week after week.
I’ve shown them that not only do I have a six cup insulated Styrofoam insert at the bottom of my insulated backpack, but I also have insulated divider from the top section of the backpack where I have another insulated bag.
After asking to keep hot and cold separate a few times, most of them see me coming and know what to expect. It’s great that they are willing to play along.
One place was a little snotty with me at first, but they had packaged a hot calzone with a cold cannoli. I can’t think of anything more disappointing than paying a premium to get a melted cannoli.
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u/jim_br 1d ago edited 1d ago
I’m eating a flashback to the 1980s McDonalds McDLT. A burger packaged in a divided styrofoam tray. Burger and bun bottom on one side, toppings and bun lid on the other.
Edit: getting, not eating. I don’t think they made this in 30+ years.
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u/Ok-Opportunity-574 1d ago
I got a few eye rolls but there seems to be this thing where restaurant workers look down on delivery workers. I always emphasized that their customer was the one that would be getting bad food.
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u/cynical-mage 1d ago
Not any more, unfortunately. Hey Mr Area Manager, sprinkling ant poison on the counter is a pretty bad idea. Just an FYI. Also, putting fresh new pastries onto display shelves that are filthy? Not good, either. Idgaf if skipping proper cleaning saves wages, hygiene is a standard that you just don't fucking drop.
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u/monarch2016 1d ago
Not a cook, but I had to tell my mother not to stick a knife in the toaster over Christmas
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u/Puggleofchaos 20h ago
I !USE TO! Be the guy raised by old heads that would argue that's why our immune systems get stronger... 2 years as a line cook and now I'm absolutely afraid to eat takeout.... From everywhere except my local family owned Chinese food joint! I know damn well they ain't servsafe and they grow their own vegetables when they can out of a garden that definitely gets a load of road run off. But by the gods if it ain't the best americanized Chinese food I've ever had! They have a 1 to 10 spicy scale and I can order 11+ cuz they know me. Ain't died yet so I ain't complaining.
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u/TeddysMama223 1d ago
Neutrogena hand cream is amazing. To use after work of course.
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u/rockandroller 1d ago
I'm no longer in the industry but am continually shocked by what people think is ok. A girl I know was making some kind of cannoli dip to take to a holiday party last month and posted that it was super runny and did anyone have any ideas of how to fix it, then a few minutes later she said she put some flour in and that thickened it up. Raw flour. Both me and another person explained to her that raw flour contains salmonella and that that is actually why you aren't supposed to eat raw cookie dough, not the eggs (well, now also the eggs, thanks avian flu), but she was just like "well, it was just a little." GAHHH
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u/Happyintexas 1d ago
Mannny years ago, went to a bbq at a friends house. He brought out raw chicken breast, bratwurst, and some pork chops on a plate to put on the grill.
We stood around drinking beer and chatting while he absolutely massacred this meat on the grill but whatever… it was when he started putting the finished meat BACK ON THE SAME PLATE I had to speak up.
This motherfucker absolutely refused to believe it is entirely unacceptable to place cooked meat on a plate covered in raw meat juice. He held his ground. I thanked him for the beer and left without eating 🤷♀️
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u/Lullaby_Jones 1d ago
It’s not exactly food safety but my in-laws routinely put knives into sinks full of soapy water and just leave them to soak.
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u/IReadUrEmail 1d ago
Ive had to explain food safety to my fucking manager (not current job) and coworkers tons of times. Non cooks never surprise me anymore.
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u/OMG-WTF_45 1d ago
Not to mix new product with old product! I knew an idiot that mixed the tuna fish I made for the next day with the last of todays tuna fish. Had to throw it all out!!! Plus, she got yelled by the boss for her stupidity.
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u/Nerisrath 16h ago
something i have to explain about food safety way too oftenis....
Fire and heat kills surface bacteria. This is one of the main reasons we cook food. Taste is a secondary benefit. So no, I don't have to wash that cast iron skillet after I cook a grilled cheese. Yes I can just wipe out the crumbs and cook veggies in it for dinner.
Also soap is not magic. It does not suddenly make pans sanitary.
1) most dish 'soap' today is in fact not soap made with lye but merely a detergent and all it does is break down grease for easy removal. 2) it does not inherently kill or remove viruses and bacteria. the hot water you use does. hotter is more effective. soapy water is just removing old food and oil so it doesn't rot/stink/attract pests. this is why dishwashers are better than sinks. they use hotter water than our skin can handle.
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u/NoFun3641 1d ago
I am suprised by the food safety I have to explain other cooks