E coli Mexican Grill

[Sue J]

I see those Sysco and US Food trucks all the time delivering to our local grocery stores. What are they delivering? What do they supply to restaurants?

 

[aja8888]

I see those Sysco and US Food trucks all the time delivering to our local grocery stores. What are they delivering? What do they supply to restaurants?

Whatever the customer wants:

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[harley]

Just out of curiosity, are y'all really worried about getting food poisoning in restaurants, or is this just a friendly discussion, as in the Monty Python Argument skit?

We eat out fairly often, 2 or 3 times/week. I never even consider the chance of getting food poisoning. I know it can happen, but the odds are so much higher that I would get killed driving to the restaurant that it never makes it past my filters. If it happens, I'm sure I'll be cursing the restaurant while puking my guts out, but I certainly don't worry about it ahead of time. Having said that, I do tend to avoid food places that look overly nasty.

I also don't worry too much about it in my food prep. I was and spin my lettuce (usually). I rinse off an apple or a tomato or a bunch of grapes. I never bother with something I'm not going to eat (orange peel, watermelon rind). I guess I take minor precautions, but it's certainly not something I really think about.

I've had food poisoning a few times, although the only bad case wasn't from eating food, it was direct exposure through an open wound. I definitely won't repeat that process. But even when I've gotten it, it's usually a day or so of intestinal distress, then gone. The flu is much worse. I do get flu shots, too, but I don't go around wiping down grocery carts and carrying antibacterial hand wash stuff. I truly believe that being exposed to things at low levels produces some level of immunity, and to be totally bacteria free makes you like the boy in the bubble.

I know my thinking often tends to be off kilter with general society, so I'm truly curious. Is this something people really think about a lot? Or does it just sound that way because of the thread topic and the natural tendency to push the topic forward?

 

[harley]

I see those Sysco and US Food trucks all the time delivering to our local grocery stores. What are they delivering? What do they supply to restaurants?

There's a Sysco depot an hour or so away from our MD house, and they have an outlet store for retail customers. We stopped in once a few years ago, out of curiosity. It was pretty amazing, the things they sold. Huge rolls of paper towels, 10 lb. bags of frozen breaded calamari, peanut butter, bags of multiple loaves of bread, 55 gallon drums of cleaning supplies, on and on and on. It's like a Costco on steroids, minus the option for anything healthy. The majority of the food was frozen, and mostly breaded to drop into the deep fryer. It was sort of fun walking through. I don't remember buying anything, but I do remember being impressed at the breadth of the offerings. And I'm sure there were plenty of things in the warehouse that didn't make it to the store part.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Harley I'm with you. I have had giardia once back in my teens, and it sucked, big time, but I remain somewhat cavalier about what and where I will eat.
If I were immune system suppressed or something, if have to reform, but for now...yes, I will have those "meat on a stick" thingies from the street cart in (insert random sketchy country here). I also buy romaine lettuce and never wash it.

 

[harley]

Giardia <shudder>. Nasty. DW had that once, and as I remember the cure (Flagyl) was nearly as bad as the infestation. It takes weeks to get most parasites out of your system, as opposed to mere days (usually) for bacteria. I took a parasitology course during my Bio degree, and pretty much gave up eating, drinking, and walking around barefoot. Obviously you can't exist like that, so I just gave up and figured I'd just have to trust to clean living to get me through. I plan to start that sometime soon.

 

[MichaelB]

I've had food poisoning twice. Here in South Florida, same restaurant (Peruvian), same two dishes (ceviche, grilled beef heart), a year apart. Go figure - I've eaten raw fish (sushi & ceviche) regularly across Latin America and had raw beef in Mexico, Brazil and Venezuela. I'm a sucker for street food and have eaten all kinds, just about everywhere I've been.

Parasites in bad water are a greater risk outside the US, as is being served spoiled food. In the US the risk is bacterial contamination originating in the processing centers, especially meat, and cross contamination. The overall risk in the US is low no matter where one goes to eat, and I'd guess that the risk from unhealthy ingredients is probably greater than the safety risk from e-coli. Our biggest "avoid" is buffets, mostly because of the bad habits of the people eating there. Exception being Whole Foods Market.

 

[haha]

I never even consider the chance of getting food poisoning. I know it can happen, but the odds are so much higher that I would get killed driving to the restaurant that it never makes it past my filters.

I doubt that this is true. I have had food poisoning at least once/year, including salmonella once known. I have been hit driving 3 times, 2 pretty serious with injuries and car destruction, the third one enough to destroy a new car, but no injuries. Clearly though, I am not dead.

I do know one parent who lost a child to E Coli from a fast food place, but of course I know more than one family with deaths from car crashes.

Ha

 

[explanade]

Sysco offers whole dishes, served at many restaurants, including supposed high end restaurants.

 

[rodi]

Funny food poisoning story. Funny... because it wasn't me.
DH and his brother went to Yosemite and Sequoia a few months ago. All over Yosemite were signs warning about the Plague. (link) Yes... the plague. The day they returned DH gets violently ill - not sure which end to stick on the toilet... His brother remembers the signs - and I look up the symptoms. Sure enough - the plague has the same symptoms as food poisoning... We discuss whether he should see a doctor or not... he calls the nurses line associated with his insurance and they laugh about the plague. We decide he'll tough it out. Then the nurses line calls back - says she did some more research and the plague is possible... he needs to go to the ER.

At the ER they check for bacterial infection and designate him as plague free.

That little adventure was $1400 of fun. (HDHP).

We still joke about the plague in our house.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Cue the Monty Python..."bring out your dead"...

 

[Walt34]

I know my thinking often tends to be off kilter with general society, so I'm truly curious. Is this something people really think about a lot? Or does it just sound that way because of the thread topic and the natural tendency to push the topic forward?

I don't give it much if any thought. I'm not the guy wiping off grocery cart handles and such either, and agree that some normal exposure to germs is probably good for you. Growing up we always had pets, at least one dog, a cat or two, various gerbils, hamsters, birds, and the like. My dog slept in bed with me (under the covers). One neighbor was aghast at that!

I also very rarely got sick then and even now, and believe there is a connection. Or maybe I just lucked out on the immunity genes.

 

[Sue J]

Sysco offers whole dishes, served at many restaurants, including supposed high end restaurants.

Is that why every piece of boneless chicken breast looks the same size and shape at Olive Garden/Applebees/Chili's etc.?

DH's mom sent us a gift card for Chili's/Macaroni Grill/Maggiano's. Last time she did that we tried Macaroni Grill and I thought it was just like Olive Garden only pretentious.

 

[explanade]

Not sure but supposedly some restaurants offer a few dishes from them to fill out their menus here and there.

The chains probably just have their own supply chain, at least the big ones.

Cheesecake Factory supposedly cooks from scratch.

 

[aja8888]

Is that why every piece of boneless chicken breast looks the same size and shape at Olive Garden/Applebees/Chili's etc.?

Even the chickens that are raised for their "parts" all look the same and are the same size.

 

[Texas Proud]

Talk about irradiation....

Isn't milk irradiated over in Europe When I was there, you could buy milk in a carton sitting on the shelf with everything else.... it was not refrigerated...

Once you opened it, you did refrigerate.....

 

[sanfanciscotreat]

Even the chickens that are raised for their "parts" all look the same and are the same size.

Breast filets are trimmed and sized at the poultry processing facility to meet specifications of these restaurants.

 

[aja8888]

Breast filets are trimmed and sized at the poultry processing facility to meet specifications of these restaurants.

And the chicken wings?

 

[travelover]

Talk about irradiation....

Isn't milk irradiated over in Europe When I was there, you could buy milk in a carton sitting on the shelf with everything else.... it was not refrigerated...

Once you opened it, you did refrigerate.....

That milk may just be heated to a higher temperature than regular pasteurized milk. Dollar Tree used to sell the unrefrigerated milk in cardboard cartons. It was from a Utah company - Mormons typically stockpile food.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Sunset]

Is that why every piece of boneless chicken breast looks the same size and shape at Olive Garden/Applebees/Chili's etc.?

DH's mom sent us a gift card for Chili's/Macaroni Grill/Maggiano's. Last time she did that we tried Macaroni Grill and I thought it was just like Olive Garden only pretentious.

I have noticed the same thing, except I love Olive Garden's all you can eat salad. Being a dare-devil the 2 of us will eat 2 and sometimes 3 bowls of salad with the meal... Never got food poisoning there... yet...

 

[Sunset]

Talk about irradiation....

Isn't milk irradiated over in Europe When I was there, you could buy milk in a carton sitting on the shelf with everything else.... it was not refrigerated...

Once you opened it, you did refrigerate.....

You can get Soy Milk at Costco like that, very handy for camping trips as refrigeration is a precious thing.

 

[sengsational]

Breast filets are trimmed and sized at the poultry processing facility to meet specifications of these restaurants.

The processing plant for chick filet had a picture of South America on the wall...I kid you not!

If you can avoid it, never visit a chicken disassembly operation.

 

[youbet]

I have noticed the same thing, except I love Olive Garden's all you can eat salad. Being a dare-devil the 2 of us will eat 2 and sometimes 3 bowls of salad with the meal... Never got food poisoning there... yet...

Google "food poisoning Olive Garden"

Won't be going back there anytime soon!

 

[harley]

I doubt that this is true. I have had food poisoning at least once/year, including salmonella once known. I have been hit driving 3 times, 2 pretty serious with injuries and car destruction, the third one enough to destroy a new car, but no injuries. Clearly though, I am not dead.

I do know one parent who lost a child to E Coli from a fast food place, but of course I know more than one family with deaths from car crashes.

Ha

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're obviously one of those people that let facts get in the way of a good statistic. I sort of meant that you have a much better chance of dying from in a car wreck than from food poisoning, although that certainly wasn't what I said. Still, I don't worry anywhere near as much about getting food poisoning as I do about getting into a car. As you say, you get food poisoning off and on in life, and almost always survive.

According to the CDC, 48 million people get foodborne illnesses each year (1 in 6). However, only 128K are hospitalized, and only 3K die. Those are pretty good odds of survival. It mostly turns food borne illness into an inconvenience, as opposed to a mortality worry.

That being said, I'm holding on to my Chipotle gift card until it sounds like they've made the appropriate changes in their food handling and purchasing processes.

 

[samclem]

I just saw the previous post - not appropriate for lettuce, so some other solutions are needed, like just better controls at the source for now?

I'm fairly sure that a short soak in a mild vinegar solution does a great job of killing off the vast majority of bacteria and (as a bonus) the water-soluble chemicals. Then a rinse and we're done. Keep them cool until serving and I doubt there'd be much chance of decolonization. Simple, cheap, quick, and could be done at the field, at a central location, or the store/restaurant. Maybe all of these--any step in the chain interested in avoiding a lawsuit and loss of business.