Do you wipe off the handle of your shopping cart?

[Alnitak]

This. One sneeze or one cough in an aisle, and every item within ten meters is coated with viruses and maybe bacteria.

So, no, I don't use them.

Great points.

Though I do use the wipes at the gym after I'm done. It's a courtesy of course.

 

[darden]

This. One sneeze or one cough in an aisle, and every item within ten meters is coated with viruses and maybe bacteria.

So, no, I don't use them.

not to mention, all the items were shelved by hand by stockboys who assuredly weren't washing their hands all day (and god knows what the condition of the shipping trucks were)

ultimately, I think as long as you wash your hands after going to the bathroom and before touching any food that you're going to serve or eat, you're probably safe.

 

[Kulindahr]

not to mention, all the items were shelved by hand by stockboys who assuredly weren't washing their hands all day (and god knows what the condition of the shipping trucks were)

ultimately, I think as long as you wash your hands after going to the bathroom and before touching any food that you're going to serve or eat, you're probably safe.

When I worked briefly at a Thriftway, I got called in to help with a delivery truck that had arrived seriously late. The boss there actually made everyone wash their hands thoroughly before starting and at break. And he regularly refused to accept delivery of pallets with dirt on the loads.

The Safeway that bought the land out from under them (through a dummy firm) in order to shut them out of business has no such policies. Over at Fred Meyer, though, I have noticed that the store employees stocking shelves wear vinyl gloves -- OTOH, except for the Pepsi and Coke guys, I haven't seen any of the vendors doing the same. The Fred Meyer pharmacy even has free face masks, the kind that conform to your face, available for free when you're shopping.

 

[eastofeden]

And there's salmonella in sushi

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/05/sushi-salmonella-now-affects-21-states/257508/

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-sty...raped-fish-spicy-tuna-rolls-article-1.1063661

http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/cda-2004-cdi2804p.htm

http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/04/26/11413590-258-now-sick-in-salmonella-sushi-outbreak

It's spreading from Asia to the rest of the world

http://www.marlerclark.com/spicy-tuna-sushi-salmonella-outbreak/

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/04/04/sushi-linked-to-salmonella-outbreak-affecting-1-states/

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/foods-to-avoid-pregnant.aspx

That can happen with any food...I think eggs. lettuce and peanut butter were recent culprits as well.

 

[zoltanspawn]

The level of safety we have come to expect in all areas of our lives is officially neurotic.

Is there some prophylaxis I can use against that?

 

[cgymike]

I was at Fred Meyer the other day and there was a family just finished with their trolley and pushed it in my direction. It was sanitized thoroughly because their son was sneezing and wheezing. I can't afford to get sick now. But also some employees of Fred Meyer also appeared to be ill. They should take time off work instead of infecting the whole store

I carry Lysol disinfectant with me. It will kill anything!

 

[eastofeden]

The level of safety we have come to expect in all areas of our lives is officially neurotic.

Is there some prophylaxis I can use against that?

The level of shareholder expectation for bigger profit and more $$$ is neurotic as well and without safety features and regulations in place they would readily compromise our health and safety for a few extra bucks...so it is a draw....

 

[USEDCAR]

No i don't i never think about it

 

[TriBi]

Meh. I think society has gone overboard. By all means apply common sense...but, these days, most people seem to be operating on paranoia.

My Grandmother (who would be around 115 year old if she were still alive) used to have a saying "a little bit of dirt never did anyone any harm" - and I think that sums it up. I played in the dirt, probably ate a good deal of it when I was a nipper - and never suffered any ill effects.

By all means be sensible - but if you go around "sanitising everything" you'll never build up any immunity to anything.

 

[cityboy-stl]

Waste of time. The most germ infested items in society are gas pump handles. Nobody wipes off gas pump handles.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/236562.php

 

[blackbeltninja]

No. And there is evidence that trying to sanitize too hard actually increases your risk of getting sick because your immune system does not develop antibodies.

Also, soap and water is more effective at disrupting cell membranes than alcohol.

I'm under the impression that ethanol is supposed to pull all the water out of the cell and basically smash its osmotic homeostasis and innards to bits, rather than disrupt its membrane.





Anyhoo, to answer the question... no, no I don't. And you guys shouldn't, either.

-d-

 

[Alnitak]

I'm under the impression that ethanol is supposed to pull all the water out of the cell and basically smash its osmotic homeostasis and innards to bits, rather than disrupt its membrane.

Alcohol denatures surface proteins in cell membranes because alcohol as awesome at screwing with their hydrogen bonds.

 

[piano1]

If they are available. Some of the store I go to do not offer such an item at the door. I wash my hands once I get home.

 

[zoltanspawn]

The level of shareholder expectation for bigger profit and more $$$ is neurotic as well and without safety features and regulations in place they would readily compromise our health and safety for a few extra bucks...so it is a draw....

I don't think 'one party is neurotic, so the other party can be neurotic, too' is a good justification of bad behavior.

 

[purina]

We live on different planets.

 

[eastofeden]

I don't think 'one party is neurotic, so the other party can be neurotic, too' is a good justification of bad behavior.

Bottom line...I am fine with safety regulations. I think [STRIKE]corporate[/STRIKE] greed is bad behavior and corporate greed is one of the reasons so many of these "neurotic safety regulations" were/are necessary.

Just curious...do you have a problem with food labels and letting people know what is in their food?

 

[zoltanspawn]

Bottom line...I am fine with safety regulations. I think [STRIKE]corporate[/STRIKE] greed is bad behavior and corporate greed is one of the reasons so many of these "neurotic safety regulations" were/are necessary.

Just curious...do you have a problem with food labels and letting people know what is in their food?

You are narrowing the discussion from general irrational behavior, to irrational behavior enacted as legislation. There are no safety regulations in place regarding shopping cart wipes that I'm aware of.

Though I do have a problem with a neurotic obsession with safety no matter the origin. If it's germaphobia driven by the nonsensical fears of the marketplace, germaphobia capitalized on by corporate interest, or germaphobia enforced by well-intentioned legislators, I don't like it.

Food labels should be complete, accurate and contain information relevant to rigorous scientific standards only.

On the other hand, do you think all packaged juice should be boiled? Should sushi only be prepared by chefs wearing vinyl gloves? Should unpasteurized-milk cheese be prohibited from import from Europe? Should gluten be listed as an allergen? Should it be a safety regulation that shopping cart handles are disinfected between use?

 

[eastofeden]

You are narrowing the discussion from general irrational behavior, to irrational behavior enacted as legislation.

You opened that door by stating The level of safety we have come to expect in all areas of our lives is officially neurotic. You took it from shopping carts to "all areas of our lives. I was specifically responding to that and when considering the level of safety in all areas of our lives greed and profit are a major part of the equation.

On the other hand, do you think all packaged juice should be boiled?

I think it should be labeled with warnings if it isn't. There are a lot of people who would have a potentially difficult time with the bacteria and I think a warning is appropriate and necessary for unpasteurized juice.

Should sushi only be prepared by chefs wearing vinyl gloves?

Eh...I can see both sides of the issue. I think that the same germs what are on one's hands can be on one's gloves if the handler does not follow existing food handling precautions...and many do not.

Should unpasteurized-milk cheese be prohibited from import from Europe?

No opinion...I don't have enough information.

Should gluten be listed as an allergen?

Yes...

Should it be a safety regulation that shopping cart handles are disinfected between use?

Regulation? No. I think having the disinfectant wipes as an option for people who want to use them is good enough.

 

[zoltanspawn]

You opened that door by stating The level of safety we have come to expect in all areas of our lives is officially neurotic. You took it from shopping carts to "all areas of our lives. I was specifically responding to that and when considering the level of safety in all areas of our lives greed and profit are a major part of the equation.

I think it should be labeled with warnings if it isn't. There are a lot of people who would have a potentially difficult time with the bacteria and I think a warning is appropriate and necessary for unpasteurized juice.

Eh...I can see both sides of the issue. I think that the same germs what are on one's hands can be on one's gloves if the handler does not follow existing food handling precautions...and many do not.

No opinion...I don't have enough information.

Yes...

Regulation? No. I think having the disinfectant wipes as an option for people who want to use them is good enough.

What happens when our concern with being safe isn't keeping us safe?

Our quality of life should come before our imaginary fears, and we ought to eliminate useless, irrational habits.

However, we are overcome with anxiety. The most infinitesimal chance of danger is quantified as unacceptable. Ridiculous protocols are enacted to protect against the most unlikely scenario.

Coca-Cola definitely agrees with you about boiling juice, except they don't think there should be any unpasteurized juice on the market. People could die! They used their influence to pass legislation here that made unboiled juice illegal. I watched one of my favorite, small local companies go out of business because Coca-Cola cared so much about our health. (Actually, several small juice businesses folded, but I still miss that one in particular.) Labeling juice as unpasteurized is not considered adequate protection in the face of the science.

The problem with vinyl gloves in food service has specifically to do with norovirus. Norovirus sickens people primarily in concentrated living conditions like dormitories and cruise ships, and is especially dangerous to the elderly. Hysteria about preventing it has led to regulations requiring their use in all food service, because people could get sick! Meanwhile, the quality of food--especially something delicate like sushi--would suffer terribly. Again, no exceptions via disclaimer have been proposed.

Europeans eat unpasteurized milk cheese all the time. I bet some get sick. How 'bout the freedom to choose? I know, I know, there's a chance something bad could happen.

Gluten is not an allergen. It doesn't cause anaphylaxis. Mass hysteria is afoot, and there are no comparable labeling requirements for ingredients that aren't allergens.

I think people are free to be neurotic, so I wouldn't support legislation barring the use of shopping cart wipes. But I find it tempting!

 

[pat grimshaw]

^




By the way; I remember one of the producers on the TV show Big Brother saying the editors spent more time cutting out shots of the participants' picking their nose than cutting out penises.