Cleanliness in the UK and the US

I don't wash vegetables I must confess but I do wash fruit because sometimes it seems kind of powdery (plums) or waxy (apples).

Now I get to share an interesting fact! I recently learned that the powdery coating on sugary fruits, plums, grapes etc. is yeast. Yep.

Now I get to share an interesting fact! I recently learned that the powdery coating on sugary fruits, plums, grapes etc. is yeast. Yep.

Really? What's the reason for it?

I had a friend at University (in Horticulture) who trying to prove her "country" cred and ate a finger full of dirt.  

Now I'm not saying that country folk eat dirt - but this woman was talking about how her country grandma used to (for whatever reason) and she showed us young'uns how its done.

A few weeks later she was at the doctor because she had soil borne bacteria flourishing in her stomach.  

Poor cultures will eat dirt (for the minerals), but it's pretty unsafe if you can get your minerals in otherways.

Plus what Mindy said.  

Maybe she should have cooked that dirt before eating it. 

That's the reason I do give my fruits and vegetable a wash/rub-down under the tap at the least, even though I don't advocate the paranoia approach to germs!  

I guess this is just one of my things: lots of people have touched the fruit before I get to buy it, and even if it's just a man shopping in the store who felt up my apples right after handling his -- erm -- banana in the bathroom and then didn't wash his hands.....I'd rather not eat it without a quick wash-down.

Blech.  This reminds of people putting money in their mouths to hold it there when they're paying for something.  Ewwwwww.

It is naturally occuring. Yes! I love sharing factoids. 

It is naturally occuring. Yes! I love sharing factoids. 

Oh! I thought you meant it was added for something to do with storing, transport, etc. That's pretty interesting!

Oh! I thought you meant it was added for something to do with storing, transport, etc. That's pretty interesting!

I thought it was interesting too. I've just spent a week learning all about yeast and their funny ways.

It is naturally occuring. Yes! I love sharing factoids. 

Isn't it like sunscreen for a fruit kinda?  A protective layer?  I can't think of any other reason why it'd be there.

I don't know what the benefit is for the fruit, if any. I just know that there are yeast all over the place, and if there is an easy sugar source, such as fruit sugar, they multiply so much that you can even see them.

I don't notice a difference in hygeine standards.  Some places are disgusting in the UK, some places are disgusting in the US.  It depends on the businesses own priorities when it comes to cleanliness. 

I totally agree. But I have noticed that here there is a lot more litter. I assume thats because they have street sweepers out all the time so people just assume it will get picked up.

Haven't been to the Uk yet. But I did live in California when my kids were young. EVERY year, when school started...guaranteed, my kids got lice.

To top it off, when they got chicken pox......sa-weet....they had lice at the same time.
God help you alll that you never have to experience THAT.

And as far as the fruit, THIS is what I tell my husband when I see him eat unwashed fruit...

"Some one was out in a field picking that stuff, there is NO bathroom out there, HELLO, you just ate someone's wee wee germs."

Bon Appetite:)

One thing I really can't stand, is 'urine mints' - the bowl of mints or candy that they have in receptions at restaurants.  Imagine the number of people who don't wash their hands after using the toilet and then put their hands in the bowl. 

The problem with lice is not cleanliness, it is people are not doing what is needed to eradicate them.  This is a huge problem because if you don't get rid of them completely, then they will spread, and quickly!  Also, if you use pesticidal shampoos to treat them, but don't get rid of them completely, then you will end up with a resistant strain of lice, which is also a huge problem.  For lice, it is totally necessary to nit-pick!!

And as far as the fruit, THIS is what I tell my husband when I see him eat unwashed fruit...

"Some one was out in a field picking that stuff, there is NO bathroom out there, HELLO, you just ate someone's wee wee germs."

If you're lucky.  Healthy urine, at least, is sterile.  But there's no guaranteeing that the picker just needed a wee....

My husband used to work in microbiology in a plant that packed fruit/veg/fresh salads/ready meals, testing foods for "safe" levels of bacteria.  You would not believe the levels of coliform bacteria (including E. coli), where people had washed their hands, but not well enough.  And a couple of veg, such as green onions and peppers (red, yellow, or green) are CRAWLING with nasties.  Wash your fruit and veg.  I didn't previously, but at the moment I can't afford a case of food poisoning which would affect more than me. 

 just because it's accepted as relatively "normal" doesn't mean its accepted as okay. People still don't want or feel good about finding their kid has lice!

Well, its a pain in the rear end to get rid of the little blighters anyway! 

Well, its a pain in the rear end to get rid of the little blighters anyway! 

I know it can be hell! One family I knew in Austin had a terrible time getting rid of them. Their daughter's (very good) school had an epidemic and all the parents were issued with instructions as to all the methods they'd need to use in order to clear their family of lice. The problem was, not all the parents even bothered - leading to re-infestations of the kids who had been rid of the lice successfully. All it takes to have constant reinfestations among schoolchildren is for one family to not do what they can to rid themselves of them. My friends were so frustrated because it meant that even when they cleared their daughter she would get infested again around her classmates. 

They had to use methods such as combing several times a day with the special fine-tooth comb, shampooing with tea tree oil, virtually boiling their laundry, and they even put certain items such as some large bean bags into a locked room -- apparently if the lice may be crawling on any non-human item, you can kill them by depriving them of human proximity as they can't live unless they can quickly hitch a ride on a host.

When my mother was little they would get infested with nits at least once a year.  In those days the drill was to dose the kid's hair with kerosene  and then chop it off as short as possible.  Pretty drastic.  When I was in school I never once heard of anyone having them -- but then when my kids came along ... we all got 'em.