Bought a couple of pieces of Aussie sirloin at Big C Extra, and was surprised to see the guy behind the counter, who was a falang surprisingly, who spoke no Thai, grab the two pieces out using his bare hands. Now I know most of the bacteria will be killed in the cooking process, but I expected a higher level of visible hygiene at Big C. Even at Makro the counter staff use disposable gloves. The sirloin was excellent BTW, 250 baht for two thick pieces, more than enough for a meal for two. I'll never buy Thai beef again after the last piece I tried that was totally inedible due to it's toughness.

Cant ever recall the local butcher wearing gloves of any sort!

7 minutes ago, LennyW said:

Cant ever recall the local butcher wearing gloves of any sort!

What local butcher, where? I'm trying to recall if my butcher in Australia ever wore plastic gloves, but my memory fails me.

I've only lived here 4 months and that would not surprise me - thailand ways of doing things are very layed back.  Big C is sort of a discount store like walmart to me.  But as you say - the cooking will kill any surface bacteria - should get a meat thermometer to make sure center of steak is 140 - 160 F or 60 - 70 degrees C.  

1 minute ago, RicUSA said:

I've only lived here 4 months and that would not surprise me - thailand ways of doing things are very layed back.  Big C is sort of a discount store like walmart to me.  But as you say - the cooking will kill any surface bacteria - should get a meat thermometer to make sure center of steak is 140 - 160 F or 60 - 70 degrees C.  

I'm used to seeing tables of chicken and pork laid out uncovered and people rooting through for the best looking pieces, but it surprised me to see counter staff handling meat bare handed, especially a falang.

It's only since the 80 & 90's that we've become germ obsessed in the west; health & safety ad nauseam. A few bugs are good for the immune system.

2 minutes ago, Stocky said:

It's only since the 80 & 90's that we've become germ obsessed in the west; health & safety ad nauseam. A few bugs are good for the immune system.

I wasn't concerned, more a bit surprised. If you eat from markets or cart food in Thailand you can't be too worried about hygiene.

My Big C Rule; whatever meat you buy you cook it that day. Never keep it in your fridge overnight. 

Oh and I wash it too. However as the above indicates I have put things in the fridge and had them go bad by the next day. More than once .... probably those bargain pieces they are selling. I still shop there,  but caveat emptor. 

With the current over use of plastics being highlighted and confronted, surely just the use of a pair of tongs to pick the meat would be sufficient? coupled with regular hand washing. Dispose completely with disposable gloves.

3 hours ago, LennyW said:

Cant ever recall the local butcher wearing gloves of any sort!

 

my butcher back home certainly doesn't wear gloves. i live in a farming area the meat is all from local farms, just the thought makes me homesick...

I never put on gloves when I handle my meat.

It's good that you see what happens and then you can make up your mind if you think that is a risk.

 

I saw one in a supermarket in Sukhumvit Soi 11 (now moved) lots of cold cut products in front of the fridge. The staff put it there for presentation. But that was not the worst part. In the evening they put the products back in the refrigerated shelf. So anybody who bought something from that shelf (maybe the next day) and thought it was all the time cold might have a bad surprise.

That was the moment when I decided I won't buy anything which should be cool in that shop anymore.

4 minutes ago, samsensam said:

my butcher back home certainly doesn't wear gloves.

But I am also pretty sure your butcher back home will wash his hands thoroughly i.e. after he was at the toilet.

I wouldn't bet on that here.

4 hours ago, giddyup said:

most of the bacteria will be killed in the cooking process,

The bacteria from his arse wiping would have killed the bacteria from the snot, too. 

 

 

Was washing my hands in a bathroom at some Plaza place one lunchtime, 2 chef guys from some mock Sushi/Jap/Korean place came out of their stalls, went to the sinks, did their hair, scratched and plucked at various parts of their face and teeth, then went off back to work. No water used.

 

 

 

 

 

Yummy!

 

Perhaps Thailand had a very successful 'Save Water' campaign in the past. 

17 minutes ago, LomSak27 said:

My Big C Rule; whatever meat you buy you cook it that day. Never keep it in your fridge overnight. 

Oh and I wash it too. However as the above indicates I have put things in the fridge and had them go bad by the next day. More than once .... probably those bargain pieces they are selling. I still shop there,  but caveat emptor. 

If you are buying stuff past it's use by that's on special, perhaps, but I buy meat from the import counter that I either freeze for later or keep at least a couple of days in the fridge before cooking, never a problem. You only need to sniff it to tell if it's a bit off.

1 minute ago, Happy Grumpy said:

The bacteria from his arse wiping would have killed the bacteria from the snot, too. 

 

 

Was washing my hands in a bathroom at some Plaza place one lunchtime, 2 chef guys from some mock Sushi/Jap/Korean place came out of their stalls, went to the sinks, did their hair, scratched and plucked at various parts of their face and teeth, then went off back to work.

 

 

 

 

 

Yummy!

You are better off not knowing what goes on behind the scenes otherwise you'd never eat out again. I remember an Indian restaurant in Australia that scraped all the left overs from customers plates back into jars to be served up again to someone else.

4 hours ago, giddyup said:

Bought a couple of pieces of Aussie sirloin at Big C Extra, and was surprised to see the guy behind the counter, who was a falang surprisingly, who spoke no Thai, grab the two pieces out using his bare hands.

Sounds more like a fellow customer.

1 minute ago, evadgib said:

Sounds more like a fellow customer.

Behind the counter in a white coat serving meat and putting the price on it, really?

3 minutes ago, giddyup said:

Behind the counter in a white coat serving meat and putting the price on it, really?

...looking like a ferang & not speaking the language? I'm not falling for it but good luck to any who do ????

20 minutes ago, evadgib said:

...looking like a ferang & not speaking the language? I'm not falling for it but good luck to any who do ????

No reason to lie, what on earth would I be trying to prove? My partner even asked him a question about the meat and he said he was sorry, he didn't speak Thai. Apparently the guy is a Filipino, not a falang, so I was wrong on that score, but he didn't look the least bit Asian, and he spoke English without an accent.

Although not Jewish I have adopted the habit of koshering meat, here. The purpose under kashut (dietary law) is to remove any blood from the meat, but it draws any moisture out, which has the effect of pulling bacteria out as well. Then it must be thoroughly rinsed. 
No guarantees, but I believe this adds to the hygiene of the food.
A good green curry will help if the meat was slightly "off". My dad maintained this was the purpose of curry, developed in the days before refrigeration. ????

1 hour ago, giddyup said:

You only need to sniff it to tell if it's a bit off.

Obviously I did.  

2 hours ago, Nyezhov said:

I never put on gloves when I handle my meat.

But it's not the same someone else is handling your meat?

2 hours ago, Stocky said:

It's only since the 80 & 90's that we've become germ obsessed in the west; health & safety ad nauseam. A few bugs are good for the immune system.

But dirty hands are full of bacteria and you can really get sick 

So your point is really stupid 

I always speak up when I see Thai people take meat with their bare hands in makro 

Try use plastic bag or gloves 

6 hours ago, giddyup said:

What local butcher, where? I'm trying to recall if my butcher in Australia ever wore plastic gloves, but my memory fails me.

no, they did not ,, I remember them well, and the sawdust on the floor

It'd have to be pretty sad to ever now hear there ends up some poor fella reads all this; and spend the rest of his LOS life limited to consuming clinically & biogicslly dead vacpacked mystery bags from 7-11... 

 

There will always be soylent green to fall back on ???? 

21 minutes ago, tifino said:

It'd have to be pretty sad to ever now hear there ends up some poor fella reads all this; and spend the rest of his LOS life limited to consuming clinically & biogicslly dead vacpacked mystery bags from 7-11... 

 

There will always be soylent green to fall back on ???? 

I wonder here what age they would make you into biscuits ? If true and you knew for sure it would take off the stress about seasoning funds.

1 hour ago, Phuketshrew said:

But it's not the same someone else is handling your meat?

Folks wear gloves when handling my meat. My girlfriend wears a full body suit

2 hours ago, Bill Miller said:

My dad maintained this was the purpose of curry, developed in the days before refrigeration

Your Pater was right. 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272503554_Antibacterial_Activity_of_Myristica_fragrans_and_Curry_Powder_against_Selected_Organisms

26 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

Your Pater was right. 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272503554_Antibacterial_Activity_of_Myristica_fragrans_and_Curry_Powder_against_Selected_Organisms

Takes me back 35yrs the days of the double dipping finger locking grunge pot curries. Started off at a party,  where entance meant one had to bring along a contribution to one of the grunge pots... one for this mean curry and the other was for any form of fermented spirit (anything except for Ouzo) 

Curry really was finger linking so much that I kept it alive! Decanted the surviving mass into containers and into the fridge. When the number of remaining containers became critically low it was time to make a new curry,  but first the pot was given the remaining containers as a base for the latest batch, again almost ad infinitum.

That curry survived rebirthings for over 3 years ☺