Acceptable or Unhygienic?

In New Zealand, Maori culture demands that bottoms and feet don't go anywhere near where food might be placed. That may seem a bit irrelevant at a supermarket where most items are packaged, but the cultural prohibition still applies. Also tables and benches in a kitchen. We are a strongly multicultural country but bi-cultural first and foremost and observing these customs is something we all need to be sensitive about. Often such practices were first taught by English and French missionaries and have sometimes fallen into disuse by pakeha in modern times... however, many families are bi racial so we are becoming a cheerful mixture of cultural practises! Many of us also follow Asian custom of leaving our shoes at the door to keep outside dirt outside. I struggle with this a bit, as I often don't wear shoes in summertime, but I agree with the reasoning behind it. Asian homes have a shoe rack at the door and a basket of indoor slippers in various sizes for guests to wear. It doesn't do much for the morale to be dressed to the nines and be wearing slippers , but no-one seems to mind!

The huge increase in allergies and food intolerances is linked to excessive hygiene. If it's unlikely to kill you what's the problem? We all need exposure to germs and bugs for good health.

There's alot of fuss about shopping trollies on here and children spreading germs. If it really troubles you then take a packet of antibacterial wipes and clean before use. Of course adults are germ free holding the trolley handle!!!! Cleanliness madness....

I agree with all the above complainants. But why are some Gransnetters so unsympathetic in their responses? Manners are important but these days the cult of the individual seems to triumph over good behaviour. About lipstick samplers: a good third of them appear to have been stolen and not replaced at Boots.

Madmartha I so agree with you although I do have sympathy for those of you with a compromised Immune System (that's a different story)

DD was very hygiene conscious with DGS for 1st Year but then became more relaxed - sensible as babies do need protecting but toddlers, play with mud, eat worms YUK etc. all good for building up immunity.

I hate Supermarket trolley handles - carry so many germs but I don't carry anti-bac wipes with me just make sure I wash hands at home. Public toilets are my bug bear, door handles etc, I dread to think what is on them & taps - I carry a small bottle of anti-bac to use (many soaps bring me out in a rash).

I always wash my hands when I've been out in the garden before I touch anything (Tetanus in soil & goodness knows what). always wash hands when handling food. I'm not manic about hygiene - just common sense

That is disgusting.
Although I rarely buy cosmetics the last time I purchased a lipstick from a well know cosmetic house the consultant applied the tester onto a clean spatula and this allowed me to put a little onto my finger and apply it myself.

I have also seen cotton buds used so the tester does not make contact with anyone.

It was hard work for a mother to bring up healthy children in the 30s in Glasgow - the environment was kill or cure.

Balini's mother kept the home scrupulously clean (and scrubbed the children, too, I daresay, if she was anything like my grandmother in a different city) - so no E coli indoors. She spread butter jam etc with the same knife (nothing much wrong with that, it was all going onto the same slice of bread and being eaten at once) - but I don't suppose she licked the knife in between, or used it to scrape the mud off shoes before spreading. My grandmother would have skelped the ear of anyone who did that, or ate with dirty hands!

We live longer these days, with that comes the increased likelihood of lowered immunity - and there is more awareness of bugs and germs. Infant and child mortality has been dropping in the last century, but the after-effects of even mild infections are still causing illness in some older people.

Madmartha
Picking up someone elses germs may not kill you but can be B-------y uncomfortable and debilitating if its from someone who hasn't bothered to wash their hands after using a toilet.

I always wipe a trolley handle with an antiseptic wipe
better safe than having cramps and rushing to the loo every minute from picking up some one else's bugs.

8quEEniE* - maybe she was worried about passing her dandruff/nits on to you?

I worry that we wash our hands after we have adjusted clothing, flushed loo etc - so if there are nasties we have already got them on our clothes etc.

I am in the more relaxed about hygiene camp. Its really important to wash hand after the loo or before eating or cooking but i dont worry too much about anything else and agree with others that excessive 'hygiene' can lead to more allergies etc. I have hardly aNy tummy upsets. The other thing i am careful about is avpiding cross comtamination between raw meat and other food especially dairy. I use different shopping bags, different knives and chopping boards and different areas of the fridge for storage.
As to dips i always serve with a spoon so people can pur a bit on the side of their own plate and thought that was usual.
As to trollies and door handles i have never given it a thought. As long as you wash your hands before eating whats the problem?
Incidentally DH gets cold sores, we have been married for over 40 years and have never caught it!

Off topic I know but - Polly did you see the episode of The secret lives of 4 year olds where one of the children wouldn't kiss another child because they had a 'coleslaw'. Very sensible but we did laugh about that one!

The world is full of germs and full of people on and in whom they live. The only thing you can do to protect yourself is to observe basic hygiene rules at all times.
Double dipping is my pet hate so, in my own home, I always provide plenty of spoons and a 'double dipping prohibited' sign. There has never been a bad reaction to my doing that but there has been a surprised one when someone just hadn't thought about it ever before. I tend to avoid dips in non family situations.
I have compromised immunity but don't think I am in too much danger from the supermarket delivery trays since pretty much everything is wrapped and again basic hand and surface washing seems to work for me. I try to use the most natural cleaning products and avoid the antibacterial stuff since a young relative has problems getting his breath wherever they are in use.

I may have told this story before. About 20 years ago I saw a shop assistant lick her fingers before selecting rashers of bacon for a customer! Now they wear gloves but even then it was shocking. I also hate waiters putting a menu on top of my cutlery. The menus must be teaming with germs.

I have read all your posts with great interest. I am out here in Cambodia eating all sorts with all sorts of spoons, chopsticks etc. A large amount of rice is cooked in one go and then hangs around for the day or maybe two, the meat is sold in the market unrefridgerated, And the yogurt is made and just left in the sun. I eat it all, including 14 eggs week. I have been doing this for 9 years without any problems despite have a very weak immune system and last time I came home and had a check up and blood tests the doctor told me to keep to the diet.

Ewwww. Only acceptable if you don't mind catching someone else's coldsore.

Yuck that is horrible! Other yuckies I have seen include nappy changing on picnic tables; a guy on a market stall opening a pack of liquorice laces by licking his thumb and then pulling the cellophane off them; and a guy carrying a little girl who wipes her snotty nose with his fingers and then took a five pound note out his pocket with the same hand and passed it over to the cashier in a cafe.......

BarmyOB I have recently been to China where all the meals were eaten from common dishes. There were a few spoons but lots of people served themselves with the chopsticks theyd been eating with. But we Didnt get any tummy bugs!

Synonymous - yes i did see that. Very funny!
Seventh heavan as I have said my DH has had coldsores off and on throughput our 40+ year marriage and despite lots of kissing I never cought it! And its hardly life threatening if you do

nannyanny well putting spray deodorant on in Boots may be considered stealing, but the spray action means the stuff coming out of the nozzle has never actually been touched by anyone else's skin and can hardly be a problem. Just be glad it was not a roll on deodorant.

After seeing the programme re food delivery trays, I have made a point of checking my home delivery grocery and I have to say over a period of the last few weeks, my delivery crates have been impeccable. They look as if the have literally just come out of the cleaning machine. I don't know if this is because of the bad publicity or if they have always been like that so well done Tesco.

I'm not worried about germs as such, I always wash hands etc. However I don't like uncovered food in eateries, shoes in trollies or people who sneeze into the air.
I just don't like other peoples stuff on me.

Are we not so afraid of germs just more aware of others.

I do have cat & a dog & they pretty much do what they like!

Can't get too excited either I'm afraid. i think the lipstick think is bad but the rest? Well if you get that excited about hygiene then I guess you never visit cafes or restaurants because of the risks and how rude not to eat your friends food! If it's that bad just refuse the invitation

Apart from the lipstick thing I wouldn't be bothered by anything else feel we live in a far too hygienic ally obscessed world consequently everyone has impaired immune systems.

I'm amazed by all the things I haven't worried about before that I now realise are incredibly dangerous. I shan't sleep tonight thinking about the danger I and my family have been in from supermarket trolleys, dips, people using their forks to serve themselves. How have we survived all this time? And survived with no stomach upsets worth mentioning, no allergies, no skin problems just healthy happy people! How did we do it??

I'm not bothered about germs most of the time as long as people wash their hands after using the loo, but the one thing that really makes me shudder, especially as it's often done on the T.V., is seeing people drink from a carton of milk or juice then putting it back in the fridge for someone else to use!