Do americans wash their vegetables before they eat them?

[Marcel]

Not in Virginia, Chris ! You can go into any restaurant (including fast food)
and altho the preparers are wearing disposable plastic gloves, NO HAIR NETS !

I can remember when anyone who handled food (Waitress or cook) had to
wear a hairnet.

Charles

They don't have to wear them in the restaurants, 'cause people already did that when the letuce was still on the fields

 

[ccheese]

They don't have to wear them in the restaurants, 'cause people already did that when the lettuce was still on the fields

Oh ! Gee..... never thought of that ! An ounce of prevention....
Charles

 

[Njaco]

Well, that may be true, I'm not sure if its law or not. But I work with the County Health Dept. very closely and you should hear the stories they tell of these places. Now, I don't know if its because our culture has come to accept washing and cleanliness as a sign of being human but I think sometimes it goes too far.

Of course there was the time I ordered a cheesesteak sandwich and watched as the chef killed a fly with the spatual he was using to cook with. I got up and left.

 

[Udet]

A large number of USAers have taken their horror for germs and other invisible bugs up to the next level.

I once met a USAer that while living in Mexico would almost buy Evian bottled water to take showers.

 

[Marcel]

During my first year in Biology study, I tested the household water here in the NL. On average there was only 1 batcteria per liter of water, probably cleaner than Evian

As a biologist I'm rather afraid for this "cleanness" we have nowadays. While it's very healthy to wash yourself regularly, it isn't anymore when you use anti-bacteria soap as some do. People should realize a germ or to now and then will keep you healthy as it boasts your immune system.

The germs to fear are virusses, but you can clean what you want, it wont help against those.

 

[magnocain]

A bit off topic, but for the most part California has no fruit flies. A wile ago there was a fruit fly outbrake and the state spent alot of money exterminateing them.
We mostly keep our fruit out.

I wash the fruit where you eat the skin.

 

[DOUGRD]

As a side piece I know the government employes what they call a "Beagle Brigade" - they use beagle dogs at airports to sniff out unwanted or illegal vegatables and fruits. I've supplied them a few dogs over the years.

Now I know who to thank for the beagle at the Detroit airport in '98 that nabbed my parents for a "Fruit Violation" on our way back from Germany and the Netherlands.

 

[Njaco]

yup, that was them!!!

 

[DOUGRD]

yup, that was them!!!

I won't go into the whole story here but it was pretty funny. Anyhow my wife thought it was so funny that my 70 something year old parents were nabbed by a beagle that she actually talked the dogs handler into a picture of the dog sitting next to the suitcase. But after that they treated ALL of us like we had just brought 10 kilos of dope with us. They put a big red "F" on our declaration forms and torn into all our suitcases and they kept yelling "Fruit Violation" at every station we were directed to. It was really sort of comical, especially the part where my mom kept glaring at my dad and saying "You and your da*n oranges!" I'm still laughing about it as I sit here typing this.

 

[Njaco]

Great story! Might have been one of the dogs I gave them!!

 

[DOUGRD]

Great story! Might have been one of the dogs I gave them!!

My Mom is now 81 but I still won't tell her it "might" have been you, she still has a permit to carry a gun.

 

[Matt308]

Excellent thread Njaco. While I have seen Qin's Army, I didn't realize how large of a site that was.