Re-useable coffee cups and food hygiene, am I the only one to be worried?

I never use disposable cups, I find them revolting.

NanaMacGreek

How do you think that cups/mugs get from out of the dishwasher to the counter where coffee is served? Can you trust the coffee-shop staff NOT to touch the rims at any stage of the process. Can you rely on staff washing their hands after fiddling with their hair or touching a spot on their face or blowing their nose on a break.

I'm concerned that some outlets might get sniffy about the type of cup you can bring and have you seen the price of some of them? We have several steel insulated ones - giveaways from DS's company but carting one around means bigger handbag.

You have a choice. If you're never exposed to ANY germs then you will have a less than robust immune system. As for wiping the rim of a cup or glass handled by a barista or whoever...with an anti-bac wipe. They are made from recycled plastic and other materials and are not flushable, thus adding to the mountain of waste that we can no longer send to China as landfill. They have stopped accepting our rubbish and quite right too.

Coast35

Everyone who works in a place which prepares and sells food HAS to have a food hygiene certificate, which is a one day course with exam.

Don't eat or drink out. That's the only way you can be 'almost' sure that your immune system won't be compromised. What happens when you visit friends? What about buying bread which is not pre-packed? Other people handle it and not always with the tongs provided. What about cheese from the cheese counter? There MUST be hundreds of ways that we (everyone) encounter germs on a daily basis and we don't wear gloves or carry hand wipes. Has your doctor said that drinking out of a cup handled by someone else will result in your immune system bringing you down? Why not discuss your very worrying concerns with your GP. It's obviously causing you to be somewhat fearful and stressed and that's never a good thing. I hope your doctor can set your mind at rest and you can enjoy a coffee 'to go' without worry.

I am a little confused - I saw the news yesterday but I didn't think they were talking about re-using disposable cups but introducing re-usable cups?

Recycling and re-using happens in many countries. I buy my milk this way - the first time you go to the dairy you buy a glass bottle. You fill it up, wash it and then take it back to refill it again.

I've not read the whole thread but I would MUCH rather have a proper china cup than a paper one. That's even without cosiderering the environmental damage caused by disposable cups.

Many reusable cups for drinks to go have lids. The edge of the lid serves as the drinking edge. When I use mine I keep hold of the lid and put it on myself so any germs on it are and always have been my responsibility.

I do not think we are being unreasonable in demanding that people serving food and drinks do not handle the rim of a cup or glass. After all we were all taught to pass a cup or mug by the handle if it wasn't on a saucer, weren't we?

True enough, we grew up without dishwashers in our homes and played outside and got dirty, but the standard of hygiene in many homes was higher then than now IMO.

I was taught to cover my mouth and nose if I sneezed or coughed and to wash my hands afterwards before going back to serving or making food, so I am sure were you, but how often do you see young people observing these precautions even when they are serving food?

I will never support the large coffee shop chains because of their tax avoidance schemes and the cost of their products and I hate the smell and taste of coffee anyway. I'm also not keen on what I call 'restaurant tea' so I may have a hot chocolate occasionally but usually I carry my own home made juice or just tap water around. The government is talking about a 5p tax on non recyclable cups. That's ridiculous and will make very little difference as to whether people bring their own mug. It needs to be at least 50p, if not £1, the same should apply to plastic bags too. When there are no whales left and we have all been poisoned by the toxins inside the sea creatures we eat perhaps we will wish we had not been so selfish and short sighted in our treatment of nature.

Longhaulgran the link you have asked me to read actually says “sharing a cup” which means drinking from the same cup at the same time (straight afterwards) not ten minutes later when it’s been washed My Doctor told me the virus does not live outside the body for any length time so unless you are “sharing “ the cup you won’t catch it from a cup that has been used by another customer removed from the table washed and dried and then refilled for you

You are most likely to get the herpes virus from kissing, a million times more likely than a cup in a restaurant Don’t lets ban that

The reason so many people have problems with infections is because there is such a huge push from firms making all the thousands of cleaning and anti germs products it’s big big money and over recent years people have got caught up in believing it’s necessary

At Holy Communion there could be hundreds of people drinking one after the other from the same chalice although if I have germs (like recently) I don't take the chalice. I'm a Eucharistic Minister and we drink what's left in the chalice - I think wine might have an antiseptic quality, I rarely get a cold or any other infections.

Branching off a little - I hate it when ladies put their handbags on table - wonder if they have recently also deposited said bag on floor of public toilet when there was no hook to hang it on ?? OCD ?? Moi ??

I thought the point was that we take our own cup with us, so can’t see the hygiene issue here as I don’t think the “baristas” hold the cup by the rim anyway, but further down where you or I might hold it.
It’s like the plastic bag issue, isn’t it, take your own or pay the surcharge.
Perhaps we worry too much, full stop.

I don't eat out often or go for coffee, if I go for coffee it is usually to meet friends in a Hotel bar. I do occasionally meet my DD at Costa but it's always inside not take-away. I rarely have a take-away coffee.

I understood that there is a problem with recycling the cups, not heard the word "reuse" for disposable cups.

I carry hand gel for use when I go out, public toilets & supermarket trolleys, now there's a perfect breeding ground for germs.

At home I wash my hands especially when handling food & when I've been in the garden.

Lipstick on glasses, yes that's a problem as it doesn't come off in glass washers, that was my experience when I worked as a Barmaid (40+ years ago), wine glasses were the biggest problem, you don't generally find lipstick on a pint glass, we checked glasses before using.

We have to live with germs. A sterile environment is not possible unless you are shut away from the outside world. I would rather risk germs than risk our planet sinking under all this rubbish that cannot be recycled.

I help to run the village pub. Everything - and I mean everything, including wooden plates (we have them for cheese boards) - goes through the dishwasher.
Wax-based lipsticks don't come off in the dishwasher. We have to remember to wipe the lipstick off before putting through the machine. Really annoying... and difficult to manage when the bar is busy. A lipsticked glass is "clean dirt", as my mother used to say - but of course any bar will throw the drink away and give you a fresh one in a clean glass.
If the OP is uncomfortable with the process used to handle her non-disposable cup, she should write to the manager of any shop she uses and ask how they intend to deal with the problem. Enough peple asking, and they will change the process.

Either they must design cups that recycle or we have our coffee in the shop and the cups are washed.
This can't continue it is unsustainable.

teetime!

Its a good job bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoa are microscopic as we and every surface is crawling with them some good some bad. I am immunocompromised too to the extent at one point the consultant range and said 'don't go anywhere' as my white cells were so low. I don't really worry about going into reputable cafes/ restaurants etc but of course you cant really tell what goes on behind the scenes. I stay away from fast food establishments and street food but other than wash my own hands a lot and enjoy going out. Wetherspoons for lunch today - how about that for a walk on the wild side.

I was a career, mainly dementia care, but some of my clients had compromised immune systems, especially if they were having chemo. In those situations you have to take hygiene to another level, it really can be the difference between life and death. I was paranoid when I cared for my mum through her dementia journey, in 8 years of looking after her she never caught anything, thank goodness.

Hand washing is the best Defence, wipes and gels don’t work for norovirus. Most of these outlets don’t have great standards of hygiene. It’s difficult for people with underlying health conditions. Probably best to avoid them.

At BlueBelle – I’d prefer not to row with you or any Gransnetter. So's ya know, I do get out and about - staying home for safety is for sissies. However, taking foolish risks is simply foolish and I am careful about hygiene when out and about, for one.

Hopefully you’ll take the time to read the following links regarding how HSV-1 (herpes simplex, aka the cold sore virus) is spread, and how other far more serious illness is spread as well. Considering ‘routine’ NHS ops have had to be cancelled owing to an overwhelmed-by-flu crisis, I’d think this a very timely reminder of good hygienic habits, and rules for public health should never be overruled by ‘green’ considerations.

m.kidshealth.org/en/teens/cold-sores.html

Please scroll down to the ‘How do cold sores spread’ section to read the virus is spread by…sharing a cup.

www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/how-long-do-bacteria-and-viruses-live-outside-the-body.aspx

I repeat – handing your mug to a barista who doesn’t glove up or wash between yours and the previous person’s mug is a public health menace.

When I was a student (many years ago) I worked in a bar and we were always told - very firmly- that we did not touch the rim of the glasses . Always use the handle, if there was one, or hold the body of the glass.
I think that we do get a bit obsessive about cleanliness etc but these things can't be ignored as so many people have damaged immune systems

Perhaps we should be like the Japanese taxi drivers with white gloves.