A former server issued a PSA on restaurant cutlery after stating she always drinks with a straw. Others online agreed with her assessment.
Naya (@nayabelle) posted her thoughts in a viral TikTok that’s accrued over 6.2 million views. It also sparked a larger conversation on the cleanliness of eating establishments.
Naya begins her video recording herself sitting at a table. There’s a cup of iced water in front of her with a black plastic straw protruding from its top. She takes a sip and the video cuts to her swirling the cubes inside with the straw.
In a text overlay of the video, Naya writes that she always asks for a straw. The reason? Her past experiences as a server. “After being a server, I will never not ask for a straw at a big restaurant,” she says.
Food service workers sound off
This sparked a deluge of replies from other users on the application. It wasn’t just the straws, either.
“After working in a restaurant, I will always ask for plastic silverware,” one said.
Someone else said that their current hosting duties also gives them pause in using restaurant cutlery. “Being a host and seeing the silverware sent out makes me want to bring my own to restaurants,” they noted.
There was one TikTok user who said that they routinely saw dirty cutlery at their job: “If I saw a fork/plate/cup etc that was not fully clean. I ALWAYS put it back in the dish pit. Why y’all giving customers dirty stuff?”
Whereas someone else said that cutlery should be the least of people’s worries. According to them, having ice put in your drink is a cause of concern. “Ice is the dirtiest thing in any restaurant,” they wrote.
Cutlery tests
Other diners have expressed their doubts as to the cleanliness of restaurant cutlery. This social media user decided to take a scientific approach to examining cutlery cleanliness. So they decided to swab some of it and then incubate the particles to monitor bacterial growth.
According to the results from the unnamed restaurant they visited, there was no growth. The only thing that formed in the petri dish was condensation, so it was a surprisingly positive result.
However, the results of this Inside Edition test at another popular restaurant yielded a vastly different outcome. “Millions” of bacterial growth particles thrived in a petri dish after cutlery was swabbed down. A microbiologist showed off the growth for the outlet in the news program’s piece, which you can view here.
Newsweek also delineated further swab tests at restaurants. These examinations also culminated in significant bacterial growths from swabs tested on dining establishments’ silverware.
A larger issue?
Hospitality Cleaning 101 reported that in 2022 over 200 guests at a Pennsylvania Courtyard Marriott fell ill. The sickness was attributed to a norovirus that seemed to affected different parties who attended different events. As it turns out, dirty cutlery was linked to a sanitizing violation.
The blog writer suspects that these illnesses can be traced to improper cleaning protocols for cutlery and dishware.
One Redditor also posted to the site’s r/unpopularopinion sub about potentially filthy silverware. According to them, “using restaurant cutlery is absolutely disgusting.” They cited the sheer amount of different people using the same cutlery as one reason for grossness. Furthermore, they questioned the “oral hygiene” of fellow patrons as a cause for concern.
Next, they opined about the potential for certain pieces of cutlery falling through the cracks, so to speak. “Also…restaurants have so many utensils to be washed coming and going. Chances are some of them are dirty and still have traces of Uncle Ming that came in for lunch.”
Proper cleaning practices
Numerous outlets urge restaurant workers to hose down plates and silverware prior to placing in a commercial dishwasher. Frucosol says that remnants of food should be removed from all cutlery, dishes, ramekins, and bowls first. Afterward, they can be placed inside of a dishwasher.
Moreover, cutlery types should be divided appropriately and placed in their respective areas. Specific compartments and bins should hold forks, spoons, and knives facing down. This way water and any other remnants can be “drip” off of the items.
Trust 20, a business that specializes in safe food handling practices, also wrote about this topic. According to a piece detailing proper cleanliness protocols, cross contamination poses a serious risk. This is when bacteria from some food items or equipment is transferred. Other pieces of food or dining ware can house bacteria present elsewhere. Oftentimes this occurs when raw or uncooked foods come into contact with other foods or dining ware.
“Whenever there’s a risk of cross-contamination, wash your utensils. Wash them thoroughly in hot, soapy water after each use and before switching tasks, paying special attention to any areas with hard-to-reach nooks and crannies. Like the bends in tongs or scissors,” it added.
@nayabellle ♬ When You’re Gone – The Cranberries
Art of the wipe
Additionally, Science Daily highlighted a study that shows just how effective the act of wiping is for sanitation. The research piece highlighted how multiple swipes to a petri dish greatly reduced the number of bacteria in it.
Also, the type of cleaning solution or agent on the wipe wasn’t as important as rubbing action itself. Whether it was a disposable cloth such as a Lysol wipe, or a paper towel outfitted with saline solution, both were effective. The magic number, according to the study, was three times.
“Swiping the contaminated plates 3x decreased the bacterial load by 88% on average, compared to just swiping a plate once. Swiping a plate 5x vs. 3x didn’t result in an additionally significant decrease in bacteria. And a simple saline wipe appeared to be just as effective as disinfectant wipes when the plates were swiped 3x or more,” the outlet wrote.
So if you’re worried about the cleanliness of a restaurant’s cutlery, maybe carry around some one-time use saline wipes?
The Daily Dot has reached out to Naya via TikTok comment for further information.
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