Food-related gifts and seasonal illnesses

[Darienne]

Never had to face this one before thank heavens.  But here we are on December 7th with Christmas quickly approaching and my food-related gifts must be distributed early in the week of the 18th at the latest.  Which is 12/13 days away. 

Now DH is just out of bed today after three horrible days of Norovirus.  I don't have it...yet?...?  With luck I won't get it.  But DH is supposed to be contagious for up to two weeks more, and who knows if I will catch it say in a week or so?

 

Is making and distributing foods, in this case an Enstrom copycat Chocolate coated, Almond topped, Almond English Toffee, wearing protective gloves safe enough?  My products are given away...but can I chance passing on this horrible virus?   Wear a hairnet and mask also?  No, I don't think I want to.  Might it have to be a confection-less Christmas this year?

What do businesses do?  You can't predict when you or an employee are going to come down with something like this virus.  And moreover in many diseases the afflicted is contagious for two days or so before the disease actually hits.   Employees wear gloves, masks and hairnets, wash their hands after using the toilet and you hope for the best?  And what do other folks do?

Thanks.  And I hope all of you remain well into this season.

Edited December 7, 2016 by Darienne (log)

[chromedome]

Well, I'd say keeping hubby out of the kitchen would be step 1. 

 

Gloves, scrupulous hand-washing, diligent surface/implement sanitation etc are the best anyone can do, really. Of course, if some of the people on your list are immuno-compromised, you might want to let them know about the situation and offer them an "IOU" for future redemption, just in case. 

 

My ex and I got noro on our honeymoon, at (long story) my brother-in-law's wedding reception. It made for a long and unhappy week for us both...not at all improved by my poor bride passing a kidney stone just when she was getting over the virus. 

[Darienne]

Actually DH is in the kitchen almost as much as I am.  We share the cooking although we each have areas of expertise (so to speak).  And he actually taught me the essentials of cooking lo these many decades ago. 

I'll go for the gloves, etc, etc. as noted in your post and I think the idea of the "IOU" is an excellent one.  One friend is a care worker for elderly and hospice patients.  (We are not elderly.  Yet.)

 

Sorry about your honeymoon and the bride's kidney stone.   I wrote a term paper on our weekend 'honeymoon'.

[blue_dolphin]

@Darienne, I know you were seeking input from folks in the food service world and I am not that but I was interested in the question and found some info on the CDC website so I thought I'd share it here in case it's useful for others as well.

 Norovirus for Food Workers and Preventing Norovirus Outbreaks: Food Service has a key role

[Darienne]

Thanks, blue_dolphin.  No, seeking advice from anyone.  Sorry,  I did not make that very clear.

 

Strange that the first site did not even mention protective gloves at all and the second one just mentioned it once in a graphic. 

[blue_dolphin]

37 minutes ago, Darienne said:

Strange that the first site did not even mention protective gloves at all and the second one just mentioned it once in a graphic.

Well, glove usage in the food service setting is often regulated at a state or local level so I imagine it would be difficult to provide universal guidance there.

 

I tend to think that very thorough and frequent hand washing trumps the use of gloves, but both can be effective if implemented correctly - meaning gloves changed or hands washed any time a potentially contaminated surface or object is touched. 

Any used glove that may be contaminated needs to be removed in a way that doesn't spread contamination: pinching a bit of the wrist of the glove as you pull your hand out and turn the glove inside out, then doing the same with the other hand before dropping them into the trash and putting on a fresh pair of gloves.  It's pretty difficult to safely remove and re-don a pair of disposable gloves and yet, I see food service staff do it all the time.

 

I see glove-wearing food service staff handling food, then cash, answering phones, then back to food without changing gloves while I, the radioisotope-using, microbiology major with freshly washed hands just watch and cringe!

 

Edited December 8, 2016 by blue_dolphin (log)

[Lisa Shock]

The basics for a professional kitchen are: go home if you have norovirus.

 

You obviously cannot send the DH away, so, here are some tips:

The virus is mostly transmitted via fecal matter transfer, so handwashing after restroom use is a MUST. Look into what's involved in professional handwashing: scrub for at least 20 seconds with soap, scrub from fingertips up to bottom edge of sleeves -oftentimes that's all the way up to the elbow. Dry with paper towels.

If you have a couple of restrooms, you should probably not use the one he is using, as erm, uh, gas/fumes can also be an issue.

Take a shower before cooking, and always don clean clothes.

Gloves might be a good idea, the trick is to wash your hands every time you change them. The point behind gloves is to protect people from foodborne illness carried on your skin. We all have strains of things like E. Coli living deep inside our pores, and hadwashing only gets off the top layer, using the hands, or rubbing them will bring more oil and bacteria to the surface.

Clean the kitchen with bleach-based sanitizer solution: make sure to clean cupboard fronts and handles, door handles, the outside and inside of the fridge, exteriors of small appliances, the oven door and handle, the floors, and of course the counters. For good measure, I'd sanitize the bathroom beforehand, too. (in a restaurant, the restroom gets cleaned and sanitized several times a day)

 

Per usual, low moisture, high acid foods will not support the bad beasties, so, they make the best gifts. Maybe flavored vinegars this year?

[chromedome]

9 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

I see glove-wearing food service staff handling food, then cash, answering phones, then back to food without changing gloves while I, the radioisotope-using, microbiology major with freshly washed hands just watch and cringe!

 

My worst-case story comes from an Edmonton location of a very large fast-food chain. The kid mopping the floor spilled a box of gloves onto the wet, newly-mopped (with a gray, nasty, shaggy old mop) floor. He picked them up, stuffed them back into the box, tucked the box under the counter, and kept mopping. Ugh. 

 

There are legitimate reasons to wear gloves, as Lisa Shook points out (a lot of people are Staph A carriers, for example) but mandatory-glove laws largely just create a false sense of security. They're popular with legislators, I think, because they give the appearance of doing something tangible. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Darienne]

Thanks for all the replies.  Still not sure if I'll be able to make anything or not.  Might just hand out those IOUs as suggested by ChromeDome.  For January goodies. 

Can't really give flavored vinegars to the recycling guys or the veterinarian's office. 

Thanks for the help.  DH is finally getting back on his feet...and I am still living on mild tenterhooks.   And not touching anyone.

Edited December 8, 2016 by Darienne (log)

[Toliver]

14 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

I see glove-wearing food service staff handling food, then cash, answering phones, then back to food without changing gloves while I, the radioisotope-using, microbiology major with freshly washed hands just watch and cringe!

This. I have previously posted about this but I was in a Subway sandwich shop when the employee making my sandwich stopped to answer the phone. She hung up the phone and started to go back to making my sandwich and I yelled at her to stop and put new gloves on. "You touched the phone!" Idjit. 

I also cringe when I see them cleaning the odd bits off the counter with their gloved hands as they slide my sandwich down the counter, then continue to make my sandwich. 

[quiet1]

For sanitizing handles and the like, Clorox makes a hydrogen peroxide based spray I like. It has very little scent (which is a big issue for me) and is super easy to spray around regularly. Also don't forget handles on appliances like the fridge, people often forget those at home.

[chromedome]

20 hours ago, quiet1 said:

For sanitizing handles and the like, Clorox makes a hydrogen peroxide based spray I like. It has very little scent (which is a big issue for me) and is super easy to spray around regularly. Also don't forget handles on appliances like the fridge, people often forget those at home.

 

Also light switches, doorknobs, cupboard handles, drawer pulls, and -- especially -- the faucets of the sinks where you both wash your hands. 

[quiet1]

1 hour ago, chromedome said:

 

Also light switches, doorknobs, cupboard handles, drawer pulls, and -- especially -- the faucets of the sinks where you both wash your hands. 

 

Yup. A bit back when I had a particularly bad cold/sinus thing I was pretty much spraying everything down any time I touched something outside of my room, especially the downstairs bathroom and in the kitchen, to try to avoid spreading it around. I basically had my own personal bottle. It felt quite ridiculous but no one else got sick, so - win? (My mom has cancer and lives with me, hence the extra caution. There is an 11 year old here, too, so it's very easy to get a bug in the house that just gets passed around and around and takes forever for the whole house to get over if we aren't careful.)

[chromedome]

Yup. I can't tell you how many endless conversations I've had with friends, relatives, co-workers, acquaintances, etc about their latest round of "stomach flu" (sic) and why it keeps hanging on in their household. 

 

Unfortunately, a certain percentage will always get very upset and defensive ("You're saying my home is dirty?!!"), which makes it harder. 

[Porthos]

30 minutes ago, chromedome said:

Yup. I can't tell you how many endless conversations I've had with friends, relatives, co-workers, acquaintances, etc about their latest round of "stomach flu" (sic) and why it keeps hanging on in their household. 

 

Unfortunately, a certain percentage will always get very upset and defensive ("You're saying my home is dirty?!!"), which makes it harder. 

 

Such people are always surprised when I tell them that there is no such thing as stomach flu, that influenza is a respiratory illness. I am polite about it. If I ever lose a friendship over telling the truth I will deal with it. Truth is extremely important to me but, to use a biblical phrase, my attempt is to always be speaking the truth in love.