Plastic plastic everywhere, challenge

[Chicken lady]

I took my reusable container to the deli again today. There was a different person working the counter. She said “I wish more people would do this, we use so much plastic!”

PSA - take your reusable container to the deli.

[CathyA]

I'm surprised (unfortunately) that they would let you use your own container. Seems like it would be considered a health risk to others.

[SteveinMN]

I'm surprised (unfortunately) that they would let you use your own container. Seems like it would be considered a health risk to others.

I don't know that that's a high risk. At our food co-op (and others) you can bring your own containers to fill from the bulk drop bins. I have seen issues (at regular grocery stores) with customers reaching into open bins with bare hands to load food or "sample". But it's not easy to get into the gravity-fed bins so I feel comfortable with how that health risk is being managed.

And I knew someone who brought their grandma's favorite serving bowl to the grocery store deli, had them fill it with potato salad, and kind of passed it off as "grandma's potato salad".

At the coffee shop where I usually buy my beans, bringing in my own container is worth a couple of dollars off the price of a pound. Since all I did with the paper bag they provided was load my container and then recycle their bag, remembering to bring my container is easy and a "win" of its own.

[catherine]

I agree that refilling containers is often considered high risk. That's why they don't let you re-use your plates in buffet restaurants. In your case, Steve, those bulk items are probably dried. And the other factor is that the "crunchy granola" people who shop at co-ops are probably more tolerant of the potential risks.

I recall when my two youngest were very young--maybe 5 and 6--we went to our local natural food store in Princeton. The kids were curious about the bulk peanut butter machine. An elderly man (probably he was the age I am now, frankly) saw the kids looking at it and said "Mmm, this is good!" And he wiped his finger under the peanut butter that was dripping from the spigot, and then he licked his finger. "Hmm!!!" he said.

Then he told the kids: "Try it!"

And they stepped away and shook their heads. If they had agreed to swipe their finger under the spigot where this man had just swiped his, not sure what I would have done. Probably nothing. I'm not big on germophobia.

But I think most places err on the side of caution of reuse of containers--especially their own containers. Maybe it's different if you ask to reuse your own.

[Chicken lady]

The deli worker wears gloves. (S)he slices the product as usual, puts it on the piece of paper on the scale as usual, folds the paper over, puts it in my open container,which is on the service counter, snaps the lid on, prints out the label (as usual) sticks it on my container, hands the container over, and throws away her gloves - as usual. I fail to see any risk to the public.

the deli has an open dish of chips and dip to try.

[CathyA]

Well Chicken lady, it sounds like she did it all pretty clean-ily.

This is a little off=topic. I remember once ordering a quart of ice cream at Dairy Queen once. I ordered it and went to the drive-up window. I saw the lady preparing it. She used a spoon to put the ice cream into the container, then licked her whole hand. I drove off without the ice cream....... (hadn't even paid for it yet). Blecch! Maybe being an R.N. has made me more conscious of germ transmission.........??

[SteveinMN]

I think most people know poor hygiene when they see it. I used to frequent a candy store near here that had a kind of hard-to-find chocolate my mom especially likes but looked elsewhere when the person behind the counter was touching the money with the same hands he used to handle the chocolate. I sent a note to the store's owner telling him/her what I saw -- and never heard back. I was at the store not long ago, buying something commercially packaged outside the store, and saw frequent use of disposable gloves, so things have changed. But, yuck.

[Teacher Terry]

I won’t buy anything I see being handled incorrectly. Don’t intend to get sick because someone is a moron.

[herbgeek]

I do not use the deli much anymore after observing one of the workers scratching his face and hair with gloves on and then proceeding to handle an order with the same gloves. I've observed him doing this on 2 separate occasions. Yuck.

[CathyA]

I have seen people working behind the grocery store seafood counter with plastic gloves on, doing various work and they ask me what I want. But I insist they change their gloves first. In some places I’ve seen people with plastic gloves on and they act like it’s for their protection and they just do all sorts of things with them on, including handling food and money. Yuck.