Worth noting: According to the CDC, 76,000,000 Americans will contract a food-related illness this year. Most, if not all of these illnesses are completely avoidable with a little work, education and attentiveness.
In 2009 if you are a five-year-old soccer "player" - you will more than likely get a "participation" ribbon. You get it because you "showed up" and, because you tried hard. This boosts the ego of parents and players--but essentially, hurts no one.
In 2009 if you are a food service worker, you will more than likely keep your job because you "show up" and do the tasks on your list. This can hurt a lot of people! In addition to the 76,000,000 illnesses (many which resemble the "24-hour" flu), about 325,000 of your friends, family, and neighbors will go to the hospital this year...and around 5,000 of them will leave the hospital in a bag. Not due to malicious malfeasance - but due to poor organizational practices carried out dutifully by workers "trying hard" to do their jobs.
No matter how we want to paint this situation...ignorance combined with poor hygienic practices do not result in safe food. On the contrary...UNsafe foods, which cause and contribute to illness and death are part and parcel of a relaxed attitude toward things like the absurd "reusable" popcorn bucket, the nasty multi-use bar mop (which spreads filth from table to table, toilet and kitchen), and unsupervised "food bars" where people bring back their used plates to tap their bacteria into the serving dish from the serving spoons. Is it time to think...and challenge? I think so. How about you?
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