Everyone knows salad bars are fucking gross. First of all, food that sits there all day is undeniably recycled the next. Second of all, you never know who's sneezing in or around the food. Then there's little Johnny and his idiot parents who think he's a perfectly civilized seven year old capable of serving himself, when in actuality he's sticking his grubby little hands all over the stuff that ends up in your plate. Everyone knows salad bars are fucking gross. First of all, food that sits there all day is undeniably recycled the next. Second of all, you never know who’s sneezing in or around the food. Then there’s little Johnny and his idiot parents who think he’s a perfectly civilized seven year old capable of serving himself, when in actuality he’s sticking his grubby little hands all over the stuff that ends up in your plate.
If you need further reason to say “no thanks” to the salmonella salad bar next time you’re at Ruby Tuesday, Freshway Foods has just recalled all of its shredded romaine lettuce with a “use by” date before May 12th. The recall is in response to 19 related E. Coli cases, three of which have experienced a “potentially life-threatening complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS.” The shredded lettuce is most commonly served in salad bars and delis including Kroger, Giant Eagle, Ingles Markets, and Marsh stores, and the recall affects 23 states as well as D.C.
I’ve worked a lot of jobs over the years, a handful of which were the food industry. Working nights at a restaurant definitely has its perks; you eat for free, you can sleep late every day, and you make decent money quick. That’s not to say it’s not without its drawbacks. The grossest part is how some places deliver and handle their food. Pre-shredded salad is delivered in huge bags and that, for some reason, grosses me out.
So what does this recall mean for us? It means you’ll have to eat something other than salad for lunch. More specifically, it means that every moronic, calorie-counting housewife who eats salad covered in fatty dressing and cheese and fried chicken is going to have to find something else to eat. Throwing fast food over a bed of lettuce isn’t doing shit for your waistline. In fact, McDonalds’ Crispy Chicken salad has more calories (430) and grams of fat (20) than some of their sandwich items.
States affected by the recall are Alabama, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. If you’ve consumed some leafy greens in one of these states and are experiencing bloody diarrhea, severe stomach cramps, and vomiting, you should probably go see your physician.
May 07, 2010 at 4:14 pm, Ann said:
I’ve been saying this for years and every time an E Coli outbreak happens….the authorities need to look into the sanitary habits and facility conditions for the workers – in the fields where the lettuce grows, in the processing plants where the lettuce is packaged etc. and wherever else humans touch the food before it gets to the consumer.
How many bathroom facilities are provided to field workers? Are they provided with hot water and soap to wash their hands before continuing to work in the fields picking lettuce?
Think about it….
May 07, 2010 at 4:24 pm, Amy Laviero said:
Yeah, maybe those field workers are pooping all over the lettuce.