McDonald's staff not wearing gloves when handling food?

mrcheez

I was in McDonald's at the Red Cow today, ordering a coffee and noticed the staff were making the burgers using their bare hands.

I.e. grabbing salad and meat and buns and putting them all together with their bare hands

I would have thought in this day and age staff wear disposable gloves even in places like McDonald's?

punisher5112

mrcheez wrote: »

I was in McDonald's at the Red Cow today, ordering a coffee and noticed the staff were making the burgers using their bare hands.

I.e. grabbing salad and meat and buns and putting them all together with their bare hands

I would have thought in this day and age staff wear disposable gloves even in places like McDonald's?

Go and look in any restaurants in the kitchen this is how it's done, similar to how your ma done it...

mrcheez

punisher5112 wrote: »

Go and look in any restaurants in the kitchen this is how it's done, similar to how your ma done it...

Nope

Atlantic Dawn

Once they are not handling cash or interacting with other items that would be full of all sorts like mobile phones you should be grand.

L1011

If someone is working on one station doing one task they do not need to wear gloves in most cases. McDonalds have extremely high food safety standards.

kirving

Not a good idea whatsoever to wear light rubber gloves around heat sources or deep fat fryers.

Gloves are mostly worn to protect the workers hands, as opposed to protecting the food. Hands are expected to be clean in a kitchen.

Tamara tamara

Not wearing gloves is the least of your worries in Mc Donalds.

Stephen15

I have heard a guy I know that works there and he says they are very strict about hand washing. Sure look at most delis where the person behind the counter never changes their gloves even sometimes doing dirty tasks like handling money and cleaning wearing the same gloves.

mrcheez

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Once they are not handling cash or interacting with other items that would be full of all sorts like mobile phones you should be grand.

Any fresh uncooked food should be prepared hygienically... In this case the salad and buns were not cooked and will carry whatever bacteria the preparer passed on from rubbing their nose, ruffling their hair, scratching their arse..

But sure itll be grand.

Interesting to note.. this is banned in NYC but not Ireland

https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/1334/

Bizarre

simongurnick

Worked in one a long time ago and it was a rule to wear gloves handling the beef. It was actually the cleanest and most hygiene focused kitche i have ever been in
Maybe things have changed or bad management in that particular one

L1011

mrcheez wrote: »

Any fresh uncooked food should be prepared hygienically... In this case the salad and buns were not cooked and will carry whatever bacteria the preparer passed on from rubbing their nose, ruffling their hair, scratching their arse

In McDonalds they'll have a hairnet and hat on for starters. The other body contact things would be prohibited.

If you find McDonalds safety standards concerning - don't eat out. Ever. Anywhere. Because you'll find a normal restaurant kitchen terrifying.

Portsalon

mrcheez wrote: »

Any fresh uncooked food should be prepared hygienically... In this case the salad and buns were not cooked and will carry whatever bacteria the preparer passed on from rubbing their nose, ruffling their hair, scratching their arse..

But sure itll be grand.

Interesting to note.. this is banned in NYC but not Ireland

https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/1334/

Bizarre

So don't go to McDonalds any more. Problem solved.

Subcomandante Marcos

mrcheez wrote: »

I was in McDonald's at the Red Cow today, ordering a coffee and noticed the staff were making the burgers using their bare hands.

I.e. grabbing salad and meat and buns and putting them all together with their bare hands

I would have thought in this day and age staff wear disposable gloves even in places like McDonald's?

Can you explain how gloves would change the hygiene of the same process?

You'll never see gloves in any high end restaurant btw, unless it's for specific things like handling lots of chilli peppers or smelly things.

Gloves don't make anything more hygienic.

punisher5112

I just sneezed in the pan..... Ah sure

splinter65

mrcheez wrote: »

Any fresh uncooked food should be prepared hygienically... In this case the salad and buns were not cooked and will carry whatever bacteria the preparer passed on from rubbing their nose, ruffling their hair, scratching their arse..

But sure itll be grand.

Interesting to note.. this is banned in NYC but not Ireland

https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/1334/

Bizarre

And you think they’re going to take off their gloves to pick their noses and put the gloves back on again?
It’s contrary to health and safety to wear disposable gloves in an environment like that too.
Look. I have a sister in law like you.
You’re not suitable for eating out. Anywhere.
Stay home and only eat food that you’ve prepared yourself or that’s been prepared by someone you trust.

Stephen15

mrcheez wrote: »

I was in McDonald's at the Red Cow today, ordering a coffee and noticed the staff were making the burgers using their bare hands.

I.e. grabbing salad and meat and buns and putting them all together with their bare hands

I would have thought in this day and age staff wear disposable gloves even in places like McDonald's?

I hope when you cook for yourself the place is like a microchip manufacturing plant

mistersifter

McDonalds staff should wear plastic gloves when handling raw frozen meat only.

When working with cooked food, the safest thing is clean hands and NOT plastic gloves.

McDonalds staff are required to wash hands regularly and sanitize in between washes.

Stephen15

splinter65 wrote: »

And you think they’re going to take off their gloves to pick their noses and put the gloves back on again?
It’s contrary to health and safety to wear disposable gloves in an environment like that too.
Look. I have a sister in law like you.
You’re not suitable for eating out. Anywhere.
Stay home and only eat food that you’ve prepared yourself or that’s been prepared by someone you trust.

I presume that's why it's generally places like deli counters where they prepare the food in front of the customer that use gloves. In order to please people like this OP and your sister in law and to make it seem like they are hygienic when really they are not.

Guy:Incognito

simongurnick wrote: »

Worked in one a long time ago and it was a rule to wear gloves handling the beef. It was actually the cleanest and most hygiene focused kitche i have ever been in
Maybe things have changed or bad management in that particular one

When putting frozen meat on the grill , yes. You wouldn't be handling cooked meat by hand generally. Tongs. Scoops for nuggets.

Atlantic Dawn

I recall being in a competitor Mc place before and a manager type was using his mobile and then handling chips, knackfest kip.

simongurnick

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

When putting frozen meat on the grill , yes. You wouldn't be handling cooked meat by hand generally. Tongs. Scoops for nuggets.

Thats right

mrcheez

Portsalon wrote: »

So don't go to McDonalds any more. Problem solved.

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.

Subcomandante Marcos

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.

Your idea of the "norm" is stupid.

mrcheez

Lol has After Hours become so crowded ye are spilling into Consumer Issues now?

cnocbui

It's not a deli. No gloves is the norm for kitchens.

punisher5112

mrcheez wrote: »

Lol has After Hours become so crowded ye are spilling into Consumer Issues now?

Yes

L1011

mrcheez wrote: »

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

Because you were too far away

Someone working with cooked food and doing nothing else does not need gloves.

That's it. Your issue is solved - you had the wrong impression.

mrcheez

L1011 wrote: »

Someone working with cooked food and doing nothing else does not need gloves.

Someone working with cooked food and non-cooked food does

L1011

mrcheez wrote: »

Someone working with cooked food and non-cooked food does

cooked and uncooked yes. Non-cooked like burger buns no.

What do you think gloves are going to protect against here, precisely? They'd have the same pair on throughout.

Stephen15

mrcheez wrote: »

Lol has After Hours become so crowded ye are spilling into Consumer Issues now?

Time for tougher immigration controls in after hours so

Blaizes

How often do we hear about outbreaks of food poisoning in Ireland? Thankfully very seldom. I think food safety standard and hygiene in restaurants/ takeaways/hotels are excellent here.

Inspections are regular and places do get shut down( if they have breached regulation) which is a great thing imo.Lived in UK and would have far less faith in their inspection systems. Not saying we are perfect here but very decent standards across the board, something to be very proud off and let’s keep standards high.

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.