May you go to Hell. May you felch a thousand syphilitic emus. May you drown in your own vomit. May you spend all eternity trying to find a parking space in a lot full of soccer moms.
Better yet, may you eat the so-called food you sell.
Truly, I should know better than to try to find nourishment from any place that sells both slurpees and lottery tickets. And in a way, I do. I know better than to try one of those antique hot dogs.
I once looked into the nearby condiment trays. Once I got past the flies, I saw what may once have been something resembling mustard. It was yellow. But it was dry and crusty and cracked, and resembled Death Valley. I’d bet it had been sitting there for two weeks. And the sliced pickles? Fuzzy. Mold an inch thick. I had better sense than to examine the horror of what may once have been relish.
But I figured than any food in a package would be safe. Last week I bought a little package of Buddig brand sliced turkey. Can’t go wrong there, right? Wrong. I got it home, and had my salivation glands set on stun, as I prepared to make myself a yummy sandwich. First I smelled the new jar of mayo to ensure freshness – can’t be too careful – and it was OK. I opened the turkey package, pulled out the meat, and slapped it on the bread. Good thing I looked at it before I put on the second slice of bread. Moldy. Every bloody slice, covered in green and white fuzz.
So much for the turkey.
But at least I could buy more bread, right? Yum, fresh yeasty bread, the best of all possible offerings from the heartland of the world’s most prosperous nation.
Moldy. Every bloody slice, covered in green and white fuzz.
You called the health department right? I mean, I know 7-11 isn’t exactly a mecca of culinary splendor but that’s downright nasty and far beyond the (admittedly sub-par) norm.
Do it!! We had a problem like that with them here and the first time I went to get out some bread my DH bought from there I ended up in the hospital due to a SEVERE allergic reaction to the mold. Just BREATHING it put me in the hospital. That particular 7-11 is now a Quick Mart. Good luck in whatever you choose to do.
Why is it that American 7-11s (I’ve been to many and they all are more or less nasty) serve crap, yet if you visit a 7-11 in Korea or Taiwan, you can get yummy snacks like the Korean chumokbap, a fist-sized triangle of rice stuffed with meat and vegetables or baozi, steamed buns filled with spiced beef?
When is it appropriate to call the Health Dept anyway? I work for a local fast food place (won’t say where) where there are constantly hordes of smallish black flies around and it has become common for us to wave them away while attempting to serve customers (who are either too polite to say anything or too stupid to say something…I haven’t figured out which yet). I’ve also seen plastic silverware that was dropped on the ground and then placed BACK into the box kept under the counter. shudder The kitchen staff rarely…nay…NEVER wears plastic gloves while handling food (which I thought was required…no touching raw meat without gloves). If I didn’t need the money or could find another job, I wouldn’t be working there.
MetalMaven
I’ve had numerous problems with rotten food from 7-11, usually sour milk. They seem to have no concept of proper food handling or expiration dates. I’ve gotten to where I just won’t buy perishables from them at all.
Having been on the other side of an inspection, I can tell you what to expect – you will stay in business, but you will get a laundry list of violations, and be given a week or so to correct them. If you are not up to snuff then, you will get another writeup. I think you can get up to three before getting shut down. Of course, that’s in Boston. YMMV.
There was one other time I caused an inspection. This was mid-Summer of 1998. I was at work. It was freezing in the office. I was shivering. And then I heard my cow-orkers complaining about how hot it was, and that the AC must be on the fritz. That was clue #1. Clue #2 was when I was hospitalized with a temp of 104.
Come to find out I had a nasty case of campylobacter. The Board of Health takes a keen interest in that particular disease. They contacted me to find out where I had been eating. We traced it to some prepackaged sushi. They investigated the store the next day. They also would have barred me from working, had I worked with either children or food.
Well, since I"ve worked there, I’ve seen a Health Dept-type person appear maybe two or three times yet the place STILL has a certification. Maybe where I live it’s diff from in Boston, I dunno.
MetalMaven
Well, regulations about food handling differ from state to state. IIRC, and right now that’s a big IIRC, in Pennsylvania food workers are not required to wear gloves unless they have cuts or sores on their hands. Remember, gloves give no more protection than do clean, properly washed hands.
When I worked food service, I noticed that people who worked with their bare hands were more concientious about washing them than people who worked with gloves were about changing the gloves.
Actually, I don’t think that’s true. I think that germs can linger on bare skin better than on plastic. I’ve seen cites for this, but I have no memory of where. Might be a good question for Cecil.
Of course, this assumes that gloves are changed often. I’ve seen people handle money, slick back their hair, scratch their butts, then continue making sandwiches without a glove change. But no matter, it’s the illusion of cleanliness that’s important.
We’ve only had a problem with their milk not lasting as long as milk from a regular grocer. Then again, we don’t really get any perishables from 7-11 anyway other than the refrigerated sandwiches.
Weird. The 7-11 I frequent several times per week is usually immaculate. They sometimes give me a dog or whatever that perhaps sat in the warmer a little too long, but other than that, no complaints. I guess it all comes down to the particular management in a particular store.
Yes, but it’s the Heath Department that is most concerned with the illusion. Having been a professional cook for 20+ years, I can confidently say that there has never been a reported case of food poisoning at any restaurant I’ve worked in while I was working there. And I’ve never worn gloves. I am, however, an absolutely insane handwasher - to the point where I’ve had bosses chew me out for using too many paper towels.
Clean hands, combined with conscientious awareness of the concept of cross-contamination, are just as good as gloves.
I remember seeing a comment from a representative of, I think, the National Restaurant Association regarding some state attempting to require cooks to wear plastic or latex gloves at all times: “I would like these legislators to please try wearing plastic gloves while reaching across a flame broiler.”
Oops, no, I didn’t mean to imply that the sushi came from 7-Eleven. That would simply be suicide in a little plastic box. The tainted sushi came from a gourmet shop that doubled as a deli. It looked fairly trustworthy.
But if you insist that I’m a culinary daredevil, you’d be glad to know that I’ve eaten chicken feet and pickled baby squid (complete with eyes). And I came very close to eating dry-roasted crickets.
Say it with me: They’re selling mouldy food. Little funguses are growing all over your bread, and shooting spores at your lungs. This is completely unacceptable!
I’m a student, forcryingoutloud, I’ve bought stuff a bit stale even, and had my share of mouldy food due to not cleaning out the fridge, but don’t fucking SELL it like that!
The occasional slip-up, ok: mistakes happen. But this is supposed to be the 21st century! I don’t think anyone who’s selling mouldy food is up to selling any food at all.
At the very least, you shouldn’t be paying for that unless it was clear the risk you were taking. OK, ok, I would just suck it up and maybe shop elsewhere. But you’re braver than me, aren’t you?
Good luck in whatever you choose to do.