Food Handling & Safety Question??!

Question: I just went to a butchers shop (USA) and he was cutting some kind of meat behind the counter. He did not have gloves on. I asked him for a piece of steak behind the glass counter. He didnt wash his hands, he cut my steak and wrapped it up. When I was paying he still had blood on his hands and gave me the money back. This is a real question.
Should I throw it out????? The money thing, I know is not right, but the other questions, because it is a butcher shop, I dont know. Any opinions???

Answers: I just went to a butchers shop (USA) and he was cutting some kind of meat behind the counter. He did not have gloves on. I asked him for a piece of steak behind the glass counter. He didnt wash his hands, he cut my steak and wrapped it up. When I was paying he still had blood on his hands and gave me the money back. This is a real question.
Should I throw it out????? The money thing, I know is not right, but the other questions, because it is a butcher shop, I dont know. Any opinions???

as long as it was red meat to red meat ...........you will be ok.
I also make sure you cook the meat to the proper temperature and nothing will matter because all the bacteria will be killed.
I would cook it to medium or above. The money thing concerns me if he handled your money that way.....did he touch other peoples money and just go back to working with the meat without washing. I wouldn't recommend using that butcher any more. But as long as you cook the meat to above 140 you will always be safe no matter what.

Red meat to red meat? What kind of crazy stuff are people being told?

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by libbyami

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eww, find a new butcher, then report him

If you are going to COOK it, then NO
cooking eliminates most germs, bacteria, etc

You could take your receipts back and demand new product and say exactly why!

Also you can call the Dept of Health and Food Service in your county or state to report your experience. Because of it happening to you and others!

Call your local cooperative extension too about your questions.

I would phone the butcher and tell them you are coming in to watch them handle and cut your food properly. You have the right! You tell them you cannot make yourself touch that product. Maybe they will think twice. I don't know. They need to break the habit and be accountable. Makr that call.

Good luck to you!

Report him to the health department immediately! he is putting you and the general public at risk. Gross!

That definitely sounds like a violation. If you are going to cook the meat well-done (at least 165 degrees F internal temperature) it should still be OK.

If you were so concerned about it, why did you let him sell it to you? I would have stopped him before he started ringing it up. I would report him to the health department, because someone is going to end up getting sick if he doesn't change his ways.

THAT IS SOME GREAT BUTCHER SHOP. HARD TO FIND "REAL BUTCHER" SHOPPE NOW-A DAYS. I WOULD GO BACK THERE IN A QUICK FLASH. TO MANY PEOPLE ARE GETTING TO SELF CONSIOUS LATELY. IT WON'T HURT YOU OR THE MONEY. YOU WILL COOK THE MEAT ANYWAY. IF YOU FEEL SAFER ABOUT THE MONEY BOIL IT FOR 30 SECONDS LAY ON A RACK TO DRY.

For the steak, you should be okay... Just cook it like you normally would. I'm assuming that you intend to cook it.

If you want to throw your money out... just donate to a homeless person.

Personally, I think people are too paranoid about stuff like this. You actually have a greater chance of food poisoning from eating a salad vs a cooked steak.

are you a germaphobe?? this idea that we must not ever touch meat or veggies or cut them on the same board when we are going to toss them all in the stew pot anyway is totally absurd!!!

I would be very concerned if the butcher didn't wash before going to the cash register and wash afterwards, but not otherwise!!

Since I assume you will be cooking the meat, it really doesn't matter much. The germs will be killed by the cooking process, but if you are making the meat into say, Steak Dianne, you might not want to do that!

You can report this butcher to the USDA by looking up the number in your phone book, but only do this if you want to get rid of this butcher shop on a permanent basis! They will be closed down!

Better to report this person to his boss, unless this was the boss, and get him fired! I cannot imagine the boss being that careless with his business license!!

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Food Handling & Safety Question??!

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