Is your in-laws’ cooking a food safety failure

Posted: January 29th, 2011 - 12:17pm by Doug Powell

The occasional relative will welcome my help in the kitchen. That’s Amy’s aunt Jean (right) as we prepped dinner in Minnesota a couple of weeks ago. We talked food safety and I complimented her on stringent thermometer use.

But many dinners with family or friends can be food safety nightmares. Cross-contamination is rampant, temperature control inadequate, and the source of ingredients suspect.

Someone called Grossed Out wrote the Toronto Sun to say her mother-in-law does not wash her hands.

“During our Christmas visit, she and I went grocery shopping. We returned and prepared the leftovers. She "re-mashed" the potatoes with her bare hands -- without ever washing her hands. … Is there any way to bring this to her attention without hurting her feelings?”

Columnist Amy Dickinson responds,

“This is extremely unappetizing, not to mention unhealthy. If your mother-in-law handled uncooked chicken or shellfish and then plunged her unwashed hands directly into a bowl of mashed potatoes, for instance, this could cross-contaminate foods and spread foodborne illness.

“If you were pregnant and contracted Listeria from these unsanitary practices, it could be disastrous. …

“Try saying: ‘Mom, I'm very concerned about hand washing in the kitchen and I notice you're pretty casual about it. Can you help me out here? I feel like I can't eat comfortably unless the cook washes her hands often.’"

Other suggestions?
 

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Categories: Food Safety Culture
Tags: Family, food saf, friends, home, kitchen, mother-in-law, relatives

Comments

crs says:

There is no completely inoffensive way to tell someone he or she is endangering the health of loved ones by using poor hygiene. Or if there is, I sure haven't found it. I'm considered a nuisance by my father and mother-in-law although I've really done my best to sound supportive and helpful instead of pesky (gee, Dad, maybe it's not such a good idea to marinate raw meat in oil unrefrigerated for six hours...). At least over the years I've accrued more and more credibility as the things I worry about come to pass. Now scoffing relatives have learned via the media what I've always told them about washing produce, for example. If anybody comes up with a good method, I'd like to hear it.

Posted on January 30th, 2011 - 4:38pm

EVN says:

I had the same issue with my sister in law a few years ago. We were making about 1000 meatballs for a wedding shower, and the recipe calls for the mixture to be kneaded and shaped by hand. She's always been a bit blasé about food safety, so I was totally unsurprised when she prepared to dive in with her unwashed hands (after having just wiped her son's nose and shooed the dog out of the kitchen via a firm swat on the ass). I pre-empted the plunge by joining her at the bowl and exclaiming, rather shrilly and with completely faked surprise, that I just remembered that I hadn't washed my hands. Could she believe it? I was almost put my UNWASHED, GOD-KNOWS-WHAT's-ON-THEM HANDS into a bowl of food that I would then serve to our family. She must think I was SO irresponsible, given that people could get REALLY SICK from contaminated food. She agreed that it was, indeed, pretty irresponsible and inconsiderate of me, and we both washed up extensively. In this case, my quite contrived approach spared my sister in law's feelings as well as sparing my family the experience of chowing down traces of whatever was on her hands. However, since I didn't address the issue with her head-on, there's always the possibility that I'll walk in on her at some future time kneading shortbread dough with a loosely applied bandaid on her finger, or something. So... 6 of one, 1/2 dozen of the other, I guess.

Posted on January 31st, 2011 - 1:29pm

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