Food Safety

I take workplace safety very seriously, at all times. That includes whenever I watch a film…and that’s terrible. I had to walk out of ‘Charlize and the Mock Olfactory’ because the workplace standards for the staff were just absolutely unacceptable. There was one scene where they were operating a commercial deep fryer that was so incredibly large that it could’ve doubled as a lap pool. Not that I’ve dealt with anything like that in real life, because that’s far too impractical to exist in real life. However, if it did, then it would be an unacceptable breach in both safety standards and ethics. Deep fryers cause quite a few injuries every year due to misuse and negligence, and one the size of a small pool is basically a deathtrap. What would you do if a person fell in? They’d be battered and fried in seconds, and then you’d have to explain to their grieving family why you didn’t think to add any safety rails.

See what I mean? My job is inspecting commercial kitchen equipment and supplies, so I’m just hypersensitive to anyone breaching regulation. There was that one sitcom from the 90s, ‘Enemies’, with the lady who worked as a chef. Every. Single. Scene. Every scene set in that kitchen made me want to run at the screen and shake it for the heinous violation I was witnessing. No hair nets, allowing non-work personnel in the kitchen, unattended stoves, and there was that one episode where I think I saw a commercial pasta machine in the background that hadn’t been properly covered when not in use.

Maddening. I’d say that I’m taking my work home with me, but this is serious business we’re talking about here. People on television are supposed to be setting an example, and they should know better.

-Kathy