Grocery Store Deli Dept. Slicer Cleanliness

[njmarshall55]

Does anyone else have a quesy feeling when you see all the dried scraps left on a meat or cheese slicer in a grocery store deli department? I stood on line and watched a team of deli personnel cut almost a dozen types of meats on one machine before anyone took it upon themselves to actually wipe the machine down.

[splatgirl]

deli meats, deli cleanliness, deli food handling practices, it all makes me feel queasy. the slicer is the least of my worries.

[Davwud]

Nope.

DT

[MonMauler]

Doesn't bother me in the least.

[Sooeygun]

Doesn't bother me at all. it's not like they are slicing raw meat on it and then going back to cooked.

[paulj]

As long as all the meats are cooked, it shouldn't matter (at least from a food safety standpoint) whether they wipe it down between roast turkey and salami.

At a butcher that I frequent, I can't get freshly sliced deli meat a half hour before closing because they are cleaning the slicer. A well run grocery department should do the same - stop and clean machines like this on a regular basis.

[bagelman01]

If I see the employee slicing roast beef I insist the slicer be wiped down before slicing my order. I do not want turkey breast dripping in beef juice.

[ttoommyy]

"turkey breast dripping in beef juice"

Mmmmmm...now I'm hungry!

[Novelli]

LOL I was thinking the same thing!
or
You can cut my turkey on whatever slicer was recently used for pork!

[MrsButterfingers]

It’s always good to be concerned how your food is being handled no matter what the circumstance and a deli is no exception.
Proper food safe requires a meat slicer be washed, rinsed and air dried frequently. After every four hours of continuous use the slicer should be disassembled and thoroughly cleaned with a clean in place solution this is to prevent pathogen growth.

[ipsedixit]

Deli meat in and of itself bothers me. Period.

The slicer? Could care less.

Sort of like worrying about a scab wound when you've been shot in the head, at point blank range.

[cleobeach]

Deli meat in and of itself bothers me. Period.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
This made me laugh out loud. I am totally with you. It has been years since I purchased lunch meat.

To answer the original question - yes, it bothers me very much to see scraps of food on the slicer.

In my rational mind, I know the chance of that turkey scrap from 3 minutes ago probably isn't going to polute my swiss cheese but then I think "what if that turkey has been sitting there for 12 hours?" No surprise that I don't buy sliced food from the deli area.