Blogs are
supposed to be easy to create and the topics are supposed to be easy to think
of, not this one. This Public Health idea took forever to come to existence and
honestly it came to us accidental. You see our original ideal was to go to the
meat section in Publix and take a picture with the men behind the scenes with their
“gloves”. Because we all know they wear gloves when they handle our meat… WRONG!!
They don’t use gloves nor are they required by the state to do so, as long as
they wash their hands every hour. The logic behind that is that we are supposed
to cook our raw meat anyway so we’re good. After being disgusted with that we were
redirected to the deli section, the place where we get our subs, sides and
already cooked meat from. We chose to put the sticker on the deli manager’s
apron while we stood in front of the deli itself.
We thought what better way to
show the public where it all takes place. No one understands that they stand in
a Public Health area while they wait on a sub or go pick a meal. Public Health
is the focus on population health through the prevention of disease and the
promotion of health. Publix is focused on keeping the public free from food
illnesses and germs by taking safety precautions while preparing their food. Using
gloves helps minimize food contamination and should be worn whenever preparing
or serving food. Gloves are so important that they have their own guidelines: Always
wear gloves, always change gloves when you change from one type of food
preparation to another (ready to eat food), wear gloves when serving a customer and change them before serving another. Always wear clean gloves to cover up an open hand and always change gloves if you're working with chemicals. People walk in and out of Publix everyday not realizing “This is Public Health”.
Left to Right: Zoe Jenkins, Erika Manon, Michelle Taylor
This is awesome, I totally agree! Thank you for sharing this imformation, I now know that people who handle my meats do not have to wear gloves. That is such a huge public health issue! I think, regardless if the meat is going to be cooked, people should still wear gloves.
ReplyDeleteWow, I never knew that the associates in the meat department do not have to wear gloves, and I work at Publix! As with anything that could involve the spread of germs, this is clearly a very important public health issue. I agree completely that they should be required to wear gloves. There are some meals where a person might not cook the raw meat completely, like steak for instance which many people prefer rare. In that case, even with the associates washing their hands regularly, there is still the possibility that the customer who buys the meat could become sick.
ReplyDeleteI personally agree with the idea that Publix, as well as other grocery stores, represent public health. This is one of the main reasons I look around the food stations when I’m waiting in lines. I like to notice if the glasses, counters, and employees are clean. Most of the time, employees wear gloves. However, many times, they forget to cover or tie their hair back. This may lead to one of the most disgusting things people may experience when buying food –finding someone else’s hair in their meals.
ReplyDeleteGrocery stores are definitely places that represent public health in America. It is scary to think that even at places like Publix, which have a very good reputation for quality food and service, employees are not even required to wear gloves when handling meat and other food items. Employees need to wash their hands regularly and wear a new pair of gloves when handling food, especially raw meat. Those simple preventative measures can save a lot of people from becoming sick from their food.
ReplyDeletePublix is the only place I feel completely comfortable buying any meat products from, I've never really known why, I always thought it was just cleaner and apparently I was right. I had no idea that there was no law or rule in place to ensure the use of gloves when handling food. This could sure help Florida, the US even, especially when everyone decides to freak out about even the smallest outbreak of e. coli or mad cow. Sometimes I just want to look at people and ask how they've survived natural selection.
ReplyDelete