Would you eat this/What would you do?

[AmandaVT]

Hypothetically speaking...... you’re at a friend’s house for dinner and one of your hosts comes in from a grocery shop, brings in all of the bags, unloads groceries on the counters, and immediately starts making pizza without washing his hands first. Then rolls the crust out on a counter that wasn’t freshly washed and dried and doesn’t wash the veggies for the pizza or the salad. As a guest, what do you do? 

(DH and I cringed on the inside but kept mouths shut, hoping that the oven would kill anything on the pizza and said quick prayers before eating the salad.)

[Kassia]

4 minutes ago, AmandaVT said:

 

(DH and I cringed on the inside but kept mouths shut, hoping that the oven would kill anything on the pizza and said quick prayers before eating the salad.)

 

I would have thought (hoped) for the same with the pizza and declined the salad (which is easy for me since I have intestinal issues).  But that is horrifying!  

[SKL]

I probably would have eaten it.

My philosophy is that if it's made with love, ... eat it.  Well that's the short version.  😛

Disclaimer - I don't have any health issues that would make eating anything particularly dangerous for me.

And TBH I am not picky about washing before eating in general.

[Kassia]

30 minutes ago, SKL said:

 

My philosophy is that if it's made with love, ... eat it.  Well that's the short version.  😛

 

And TBH I am not picky about washing before eating in general.

 

Do you mean not washing hands before preparing food or not washing the food (salad ingredients)/prep area?  

I won't eat risky food even if it's prepared with love.  I'm too paranoid about food poisoning.  

 

[May]

I would have eaten both. I’ve never had food poisoning so maybe that makes me braver🧐

[rebcoola]

I would have eaten it.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Going to say what I have said before- unless you are immunocompromised there isn’t too much danger in what you described. Especially the pizza which is usually baked at 350 degrees. The salad is a bit riskier but the greatest danger is from something like e-coli and I wouldn’t be too worried in the situation you described. 

[Lang Syne Boardie]

We wouldn't eat any of it, because we don't have the immune systems for it and it's especially ridiculous in flu season.

But if I witnessed this, I don't care WHO is making my family's food, I'm speaking up. I'm interrupting the conversation to say, "George, I'm sorry I distracted you with our discussion, I'll shut up a minute so you can tend to the washing up before cooking. Can I help by washing the counter or the veg?" 

If he says, "No, I never wash my hands before cooking, and we don't wash vegetables," I'll thank him for his offer of hospitality but decline.

[JustEm]

When questions like this arise I just remind myself that I feel comfortable eating at most restaurants without having any idea what the kitchen looks like and how food is being handled. For example, the health department in my state just shut down an incredibly popular/long standing restaurant. I've eaten there plenty of times.  Never got sick but their kitchen and food safety techniques weren't up to par.

So, I would have eaten both most likely. I may have decided against the salad simply because he didn't wash his hands after a trip to the grocery store. But passing on salad is easy to do

[Farrar]

Meh. Depends on the veggies. I might have offered to wash them, but I definitely would have eaten it all.

[SKL]

3 hours ago, Kassia said:

 

Do you mean not washing hands before preparing food or not washing the food (salad ingredients)/prep area?  

I won't eat risky food even if it's prepared with love.  I'm too paranoid about food poisoning.  

 

Normally I would have a clean counter/surface to prep food on, but washing the food would depend on what it was.  I have eaten lots of unwashed produce without incident.  😛  And honestly I don't think about hand washing after the grocery store, unless my hands feel dirty.

[SereneHome]

Oh good lord, no, I wouldn't touch it. Food poisoning is not what I would be thinking about but stomach virus would be very much on my mind.

I would have no problem eating unwashed produce from a garden, I would NOT touch unwashed produce (even produce with skin like oranges, etc) from a grocery store. People don't wash their hands after using bathrooms, people sneeze and cough all over everything, people walk around with all kinds of viruses....no thank you.

To answer OP - I would say "no thank you" if offered the food. If pressed as to why, the bluntness of my answer would depend on the relationship I had with the host.

[lulalu]

My whole family had parasites for 6 months. I don't know if I would have had the salad. I have changed A LOT since then. 

But I would eat the pizza. Because of the heat killing off germs. 

How clean the house is would be the biggest factor though. In some clean houses that wouldn't bother me too much, but if everything is already filthy I would be praying with each bite! 

[VaKim]

Yuck, no! And I don't even really worry about germs that much. To me, it is just the ickiness of it. Kinda like I'm not likely to get sick or anything eating my own earwax, but it ain't happening! 

[happi duck]

I'm squeamish, especially about germs while at stores.  Straight from the grocery store without washing icks me out.

[Kassia]

2 minutes ago, happi duck said:

I'm squeamish, especially about germs while at stores.  Straight from the grocery store without washing icks me out.

 

Same with me.  Grocery stores are filthy! 

[AmandaVT]

1 minute ago, happi duck said:

I'm squeamish, especially about germs while at stores.  Straight from the grocery store without washing icks me out.

 

One of the bigger ick factors (of many) for me was the fact that he put the reusable grocery bags on the counter first, unloaded them, put bags away and then rolled pizza dough out on the counter. Blech. Two days later and neither of us are sick still, so I guess our immune systems are holding strong! 

[happi duck]

1 hour ago, AmandaVT said:

 

One of the bigger ick factors (of many) for me was the fact that he put the reusable grocery bags on the counter first, unloaded them, put bags away and then rolled pizza dough out on the counter. Blech. Two days later and neither of us are sick still, so I guess our immune systems are holding strong! 

I noticed that detail *faints*

[Laura Corin]

10 hours ago, AmandaVT said:

 

One of the bigger ick factors (of many) for me was the fact that he put the reusable grocery bags on the counter first, unloaded them, put bags away and then rolled pizza dough out on the counter. Blech. Two days later and neither of us are sick still, so I guess our immune systems are holding strong! 

I just don't worry about these things.  If I think through: go to the grocery store, pack my goods, get coughed on by the next person in the queue, enter my PIN into a machine that has been touched by people who have not washed their hands after the toilet, pick up my phone to check if Husband needs anything else from town, drive my car home...... then even if I wash my hands and wash my veg and wash my counter, do I that minute sterilise my car steering wheel, my phone, my glasses (coughed on), my watch, my wallet, my handbag, my shoes..... 

'Germs' are everywhere and people who have different standards of cleanliness seem to survive too (I've lived in a lot of countries and cultures).  Unless my immune system was compromised, I'd enjoy my meal with friends and carry on with my life.  Like you, I've been in icky situations and haven't got sick.  Maybe I don't get sick because my immune system is regularly challenged - I rarely use bleach and normally only use plant-based cleaning products.

[J-rap]

I'd eat the pizza.  If the salad is bagged pre-washed greens, I'd eat it, but I assume you don't mean that...  If it's something like chopped tomatoes and onions that were unwashed, I'd eat those.  Some veggies I'd carefully avoid.  (Like unpeeled, unwashed carrots.)  If it's unwashed (and not pre-washed) greens, I'd probably take a little to be polite, and then push it around my plate so that it looks like I've eaten some.  🙂 

I've had food poisoning several times (mostly from restaurants in under-developed countries).  But even then, I'm generally not too concerned if the food is cooked well.  

 

[annandatje]

My immune system is compromised from liver disease  cancer treatment.  I would have no problem eating either pizza or salad.  Oddly lucky in that I still either do not catch others' viruses, or, if I do, it is a much milder barely-there version.  Eventually my luck will run out.