Producing high quality festive fare can be significantly more challenging on a stall than it is in a restaurant kitchen. Staff members are obliged to work in full view of the public with no back-of-house area where they can hide. So hygiene protocols need to be closely followed - because the customer will be watching.
Observing the server scrupulously wash or sanitise their hands between tasks and keeping all surfaces clean can be immensely reassuring for the customer. A study carried out by Essity revealed that 32% of us have refrained from eating food items from a street stall at one time or another - often due to hygiene concerns.
A perceived lack of hygiene on the part of employees was aired by 53% of respondents when asked for their reasons for refraining. Another major worry – cited by 43% - was that food stalls often appeared to lack hand hygiene products such as soaps, sanitisers and hand towels.
And the younger the respondent, the higher the level of concern. More than half the 16 to 39-year-olds questioned
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said they were often or always worried about becoming ill due to poor food stall hygiene compared with 39% of people in their forties and only 19% for people aged 66 and over.
Contracting an illness can be hard to avoid at a Christmas market. If the person standing in the queue beside us happens to cough or sneeze we may well pick up their bug. And we will also be at risk if a Christmas craft, food item or banknote is passed to us by an infected person who has not washed their hands.
Hand hygiene is important for everyone – and particularly those who are consuming the festive fayre - so adequate hand washing facilities and hand sanitiser dispensers should be widely available for customers.
By being alert to the practices of stall-holders and ensuring that our own hands are clean we will be able enjoy our festive market experience to the full – while also increasing our chances of staying healthy over Christmas.
www.tork.co.uk/off-premise TOMORROW’S FM | 35
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