[brundolf]

Every once in a while I grab a water cup, usually at a coffee shop, and I notice the cups smell a bit like bleach. Always struck me as weird, but I figured they wouldn't put them out that way if it wasn't safe

I might be more careful now

[AndrewKemendo]

Almost universally, the people handling your food at time of service have the least amount of training in the food delivery chain.

Upscale restaurants will generally do a better job here with temperature control and regular inspections.

Having a food handlers card as a chef is generally required but not for expo or servers and questionable for line chefs outside of higher end establishments.

Bottom line, unless you’re at a Michelin or Beard restaurant you should expect you’re being exposed to more harmful stuff than you’d expect.

[zoklet-enjoyer]

I doubt most minimum wage earning coffee shop teens will know any better.

[red-iron-pine]

why would they? if you wanted someone trained in food chemistry then your coffee would cost 2x. hell, chances are the manager doesn't know much more, either.

they have dishwasher, they put cups in dishwasher, they run, they serve in clean cups.

it's clear from the article that this is an issue across the entire food service industry, and has nothing to do with whether or not your pimply faced barista knows what the safe level of rinse aid in pre-made clears is.

[fuzzfactor]

They know better than to drink out of the machines which were supposedly cleaned when they weren't there to know for sure.

In the best-run high-turnover locations where cleaning agents are used according to a rigorous schedule proven to prevent slime and bacteria, it might be even more likely to have exposure if the chemicals are habitually incompletely rinsed from the apparatus afterward.

[mint2]

At a small coffee shop they may not have a dishwasher and instead have a few buckets in series starting with a sanitizer solution bucket followed by a few progressive rinse buckets