McDonald's staff not wearing gloves when handling food?

Always Tired

one of the most idiotic OP's in recent memory.

Del2005

mrcheez wrote: »

I was getting a coffee

I just found it odd they don't follow the norm that is employed at practically any modern deli

The fact they have their food preparation on display makes this doubly weird as surely they are trying to show off how clean they are.

While I was waiting for my coffee the preparer made 10 burgers without washing hands between. Handling beef etc.

Didn't see any hairnet, just a cute lil hat.

Do you often see them removing the gloves to handle cash and then put on a fresh pair of gloves when handling food? You don't and that's more unhygienic than clean hands working on one station.

Gloves don't make something clean, cleaning makes things clean.

Noo

Where I live theres a 5star food safety rating that all restaurants/eateries are given and must display. I mostly saw 4s. The first 5 star rating I saw was my local McDonalds.

WishUWereHere

mrcheez wrote: »

Someone working with cooked food and non-cooked food does

But read what the OP said: someone working with cooked food and DOING NOTHING ELSE does not need gloves.

Darc19

mrcheez wrote: »

I was getting a coffee

I just found it odd they don't follow the norm that is employed at practically any modern deli

The fact they have their food preparation on display makes this doubly weird as surely they are trying to show off how clean they are.

While I was waiting for my coffee the preparer made 10 burgers without washing hands between. Handling beef etc.

Didn't see any hairnet, just a cute lil hat.

In a "normal deli" they have an awful lot less staff who have to multitask.

Handle money, touch raw food, clear tables etc.

Therefore, they use gloves when preparing food. The other option is to wash their hands between each different task with soapy water.

In McDonald's they have staff that are tasked to do a single job for a set amount of time. Therefore there is no cross contamination and it fully complies with best practices.

Darc19

mrcheez wrote: »

Someone working with cooked food and non-cooked food does

I think you are not understanding what non-cooked means. In Ireland the food safety uses the word "raw"

Burger buns are cooked (baked)
Salad is not "raw" food.

So someone putting together big macs with cheese, cooked burgers, salad, bun and sauce is handling a single group of foodstuffs.

Snotty

Gloves are inherently unhygienic, why do you think they are used in a corner deli and not in restaurants/hotels (or than for specific tasks), you think the deli is the bastion of good hygiene practice??

One of the main reasons gloves should not be used is the user cannot feel if there is residue on the gloves but if it was their hands, they would know straight away. Go into any modern kitchen even a small one the size of just a room will have 3 or 4 hand wash stations, not just taps, specific stations to wash your hands.
If I seen a chef wareing gloves while actually cooking/preparing to serve food, I'd be very cautious that this kitchen has very poor hygiene/HACCP standards.

EltonJohn69

McDonald’s customers should be allowed to inspect the kitchen and if wanted, ask for their food to be prepared with gloves... the customer is always right.

lola85

Why don’t the managers have to wear hairnets in McDonald’s even when handling food yet the workers do?

mikemac2

There is better hygiene in a McDonalds than many high priced hotels

EltonJohn69

I will only eat in a McDonald’s where the kitchen is clearly visible.

Homelander

Always Tired wrote: »

one of the most idiotic OP's in recent memory.

I wouldn't mind if the OP came back with "fair enough, thanks for the clarification", but it's the continued digging of the hole and fighting of logic that always gets me with these types of threads.

Stephen15

mrcheez wrote: »

Didn't see any hairnet, just a cute lil hat.

Maybe the person serving you had short hair or was bald

Lackadaisical

There's a balance between food hygiene (most of which is about how things are stored, handled and avoiding cross contamination) and paranoid displays of gloves.

There's also a big debate about excessive use of plastic being driven by unscientific outward displays of food hygiene, as opposed to actually limiting pathogen transmission by good practice.

It's one area you'll see a huge difference between well implement European approaches vs American approaches.

The European view is that you don't let the pathogens in due to having strong systems in place and controlling cross contamination. The Americans tend to go mad on gloves and chemicals, trying to kill or contain stuff that shouldn't have been allowed in in the first place.

Take egg processing for example. The European approach is leave the egg alone and allow its natural cuticle to form which keeps the egg (which is actually a living biological thing with an immune system) very safe and to ensure the production and farm environment is well maintained.

The American approach is to mandate the washing of eggs in bleach, removing the cuticle which lets bacteria in through the pores in the egg.

The result is that the European incidence of salmonella and other egg related food poisoning incidents is very low relative to the US one but the psychological perspective in the US is washed = cleaner, and they'll quite loudly complain about European approaches, despite all the scientific evidence pointing the opposite direction.

Basically there's a huge difference between visible theatre of hygiene and actually clean.

In general though food safety in Ireland and in most of Europe is extremely good and there's serious understanding of why things are done in a particular way in kitchens due to mandatory training requirements.

It's never 100% perfect anywhere and you'll get rogue operators, but the consequences of a breech here are very high and there is very rigerous enforcement.

JohnC.

EltonJohn69 wrote: »

the customer is always right.

This phrase needs to die. Most of the time the customer doesn't have a clue what they're talking about.

EB_2013

lola85 wrote: »

Why don’t the managers have to wear hairnets in McDonald’s even when handling food yet the workers do?

When I worked there the managers generally worked at the front serving and would only help out in the kitchen if we were short staffed. Regarding the blue gloves I only ever used them when placing the meat patties from the freezer unit onto the grill. Never had to use them in any other area preparing food.

wonski

The food safety standards in large international outlets that we all hate is generally spot on.

That doesn't mean its quality is excellent, but from food safety point of view they are very safe and all their suppliers are also regularly audited and under huge pressure to not to fail at any stage. Any outbreak in McDonald's or any other large chain would have catastrophic consequences not just for one branch.

I always prefer places where kitchen is open and visible to customers. More confidence. Hate some take aways with reception and closed doors behind it. Quick glance gives you an idea what kind of general cleanliness is there etc.

Guy:Incognito

JohnC. wrote: »

This phrase needs to die. Most of the time the customer doesn't have a clue what they're talking about.

Customers absolutely ruin retail.

wonski

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Customers absolutely ruin retail.

They ruin retail worker's mental health in general. The retail itself is fine, because the people are strong enough to deal with that crap, until they move on to somewhere more sane (with no customers to deal with).

Most people are nice, though, but one smart ass can ruin your whole day at work.

Dial Hard

mrcheez wrote: »

While I was waiting for my coffee the preparer made 10 burgers without washing hands between. Handling beef etc.

Exactly what difference do you think gloves would make here??? The process would be the exact same. Or do you actually expect them to use a fresh pair of gloves for every burger? Or switch gloves between handling the meat, then the bun, then the salad???

Dream on. As others have correctly pointed out, correct food storage & handling procedures aligned with proper handwashing techniques are far more important for food safety than wearing gloves. There's a reason they're not required for HACCP.

punisher5112

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Customers absolutely ruin retail.

Customer is always right so they say.....


Eh no fluck off you tool you're actually wrong and just because you stamp your feet like a 5 year doesn't bode well either to be honest....

Padre_Pio

Homelander wrote: »

I wouldn't mind if the OP came back with "fair enough, thanks for the clarification", but it's the continued digging of the hole and fighting of logic that always gets me with these types of threads.

It is a weird one though.

Go into a deli and get a chicken fillet roll or a few slices of ham.
They'll all be wearing blue gloves.

Chefs and restaurants would never wear gloves though, they just wash their hands regularly.
I think in McDonalds you have to wash your hands every 15 mins and whenever you enter the kitchen.

So what is the difference?

Here's the HACCP guidelines:

Are gloves a legal requirement for workers handling food?
No. A common misunderstanding among both food business operators and customers is that it is a legal requirement that food handlers must wear gloves when handling and preparing food. It is perfectly acceptable to prepare and handle food with bare hands provided proper hand washing procedures are in place. Gloves may be used by food workers, but they must be properly trained to ensure that the gloves are changed frequently and that hands are washed between glove changes and when gloves are removed. It must also be emphasised that gloves must be changed when carrying out non-food related activities such as emptying bins, handling money etc. Workers should be aware that wearing gloves can allow bacteria to build up on the surface of the hands, so hand washing is extremely important when gloves are removed to avoid subsequent contamination of food.

Is it a legal requirement to wear gloves when handling raw food?
No. As stated above it is enough to ensure that hands are washed properly before and after handling raw food. There is no requirement to wear gloves when handling raw food.

wonski

Gloves are just making it all more complicated.

GSF

Did the OP use gloves to eat in McD,s?

punisher5112

Padre_Pio wrote: »

It is a weird one though.

Go into a deli and get a chicken fillet roll or a few slices of ham.
They'll all be wearing blue gloves.

Chefs and restaurants would never wear gloves though, they just wash their hands regularly.
I think in McDonalds you have to wash your hands every 15 mins and whenever you enter the kitchen.

So what is the difference?

Here's the HACCP guidelines:

It's not weird as they are handling different types of meat and products.

Vegetarian may want a salad but person serving has been handling meat and so on.

It's good practice as these foods are chilled but cooked already so more risk then chef handling uncooked as they will be cooking it and killing and burning off any contaminants.

punisher5112

GSF wrote: »

Did the OP use gloves to eat in McD,s?

Hazmat suit...

Mr.Crinklewood

punisher5112 wrote: »

Hazmat suit...

Did they use gloves to put on Hazmat suit?

punisher5112

Mr.Crinklewood wrote: »

Did they use gloves to put on Hazmat suit?

No don't be silly..... Acid bucket to dip hands into....

wonski

punisher5112 wrote: »

It's not weird as they are handling different types of meat and products.

Vegetarian may want a salad but person serving has been handling meat and so on.

It's good practice as these foods are chilled but cooked already so more risk then chef handling uncooked as they will be cooking it and killing and burning off any contaminants.

The problem is they have to wash hands after changing the gloves anyway, so what's the point???

Without gloves: Serve meat eater, wash hands, serve the vegan person.

With gloves: Serve meat eater, take off gloves, wash hands, wear another pair, serve the vegan. Rinse and repeat.

What actually happens they serve everything with the gloves which is no different than with bare hands

punisher5112

wonski wrote: »

The problem is they have to wash hands after changing the gloves anyway, so what's the point???

Without gloves: Serve meat eater, wash hands, serve the vegan person.

With gloves: Serve meat eater, take off gloves, wash hands, wear another pair, serve the vegan. Rinse and repeat.

What actually happens they serve everything with the gloves which is no different than with bare hands

Well when I done it it was change gloves constantly.... Long time ago but washed hands at 1st of course.