Food hygiene

[NorthernRaider]

[Geordie_Rob]

I seen this today. I'm a food handler in my full time job & some of the things they tell you on the training courses is scary. It's not just a dose of the s**ts like most people think. It's weeks in hospital, sometimes on life support, sometimes leaving in a black bag. All preventable by simple little things like using soap to wash hands, not mixing equipment with raw & cooked food.

I for one think its a good thing to highlight. Obviously not so sure on the news links though. Well done.

[NorthernRaider]

People dont realise that Diarrhea can kill, especiall the young and old and the weak and malnourished, Gastro E etc can be lethal to people whose health is already damaged or weakened.

[SecretPrepper]

Use by dates are rediculous and overly cautious. I never use them if I did I would waste a lot of food.
You can prove anything with statistics they say chopping boards hold more bacteria than a toilet seat. People are supposed to be exposed to germs to keep your immune system in good working order.

[bigpaul]

Use by dates are rediculous and overly cautious. I never use them if I did I would waste a lot of food.
You can prove anything with statistics they say chopping boards hold more bacteria than a toilet seat. People are supposed to be exposed to germs to keep your immune system in good working order.

good reply SP, my thoughts exactly, if people smother every surface in chemicals how the heck are we supposed to get any immunity to germs?
I believe this is why modern kids have all the allegies.

[Geordie_Rob]

I don't go overboard with cleaning (well at work I do because its my job) but do you really want to be exposed the the germs & bacteria on your fingers after you've just wiped your backside? I for 1 don't so wash my hands. Things like cutting raw chicken then using same utensils for cooked meat will certainly expose your immune system to a few nasties.

Each to their own though. At the end of the day, we are all adults & know the risks. If person A wishes to take a risk where person B didn't, then it makes no difference to me.

For the dates on food, for my household personally it's:-

Use by = goes in the bin on that day
Sell by or display until = keep it until it smells or looks funny
Best before = it's fine to eat unless it smells, looks or tastes funny.

[Mortblanc]

I am not sure about the UK but in the US use by/sell by/best by dates are set at the discretion of the PRODUCER and not the government.

I have worked in several places where my job was to "refresh the product", meaning change the wrapper and stamp on a new date.

As a side note, this past week I ate some food from an old batch of emergency stores when unexpected guests arrived in camp. Prepackaged noodles and sauce with use by date of 2009. That means I probably bought them in 2006! They were in the original wrapper and stored in a heavy zip lock bag.

No ill effects to me or the other 6 people that consumed them.

Mind you I did not inform anyone of my antics because I know that one of them is phobic about "use by" dates. He also sniffs his food before he eats it. At the proper time in the future I will spring this information on him, probably after he has just finished one of is sniffing sessions.

[bigpaul]

I take no notice of sell by/best before/ use by/ or any other dates, I use my nose and my taste buds, if it tastes and smells ok then it probably IS ok, I was brought up in an era before any such nonsense, we used something that is in short supply these days, it called COMMON SENSE. I don't believe in swamping stuff in chemicals, we keep surfaces clean and mostly hygienic but we don't go overboard, we wash our hands when using the toilet and when handling food, every pot and utensil is thoroughly cleaned after every meal , but its all done in moderation, its done to household standards NOT operating theatre ones.

[bigpaul]

see my post about OTC cleaning agents.

[Highlander]

I keep thinking back to that bunker that was found with the 50 years old tins in its store,....still good to eat.

When I was a kid we never went through all this cleanliness lark,.. half the time us tykes were as grubby as a freshly dug worms,... then as we were outside eating our lunch pretending we were camping with sardies covered in soil,.... who cared then,.. and we were as health as feas