Germ risks also contaminate relationships
DEAR READERS >>
Every year during this time I step away from my column to work on other creative projects. I hope you enjoy these “Best Of” Q&A from 10 years ago. Today’s topic is “Germ Donors!”
I also invite readers to subscribe to my weekly “Asking Amy” newsletter, at amydickinson.substack. com, where I post advice, as well as commentary about what I’m reading, watching, and listening to.
I’ll be back with fresh Q&A next week.
DEAR AMY >> I’ve been happily married for two years. I am grateful for my in-laws’ kindness and enjoy their company. The problem is my mother-inlaw’s cooking. She does not wash her hands!
I have caught her putting her fingers in food, licking her fingers and putting her fingers back in the same dish.
During our Christmas visit, she and I prepared leftovers. She “remashed”
the potatoes with her bare hands, without ever washing her hands!
My husband and I are disgusted.
Is there any way to bring this to her attention without hurting her feelings?
I do not want to cause conflict, but I am mortified to think of the germs in the food she serves us.
— Grossed Out
DEAR GROSSED OUT >> This is extremely unappetizing, not to mention unhealthy. If your motherin-law handled uncooked chicken or shellfish and then plunged her unwashed hands directly into a bowl of mashed potatoes, for instance, this could cross-contaminate foods and spread food-borne illness. If you were pregnant and contracted Listeria from these unsanitary practices, it could be disastrous.
The CDC offers recommendations for safe food handling practices — and washing utensils and hands are paramount (cdc.gov). Because your husband was raised by his mother and is also grossed out by this, one wonders if she has always done this, or if this is a new development. If it’s new, his mother could have her own health issues leading to this behavior. Bringing this up shouldn’t cause conflict, though your mother-in-law might be a little stung. Try saying: “Mom, I’m very concerned about handwashing in the kitchen. Can you help me out here? I feel like I can’t eat comfortably unless the cook washes her hands often. I love your cooking, but I can’t eat after I’ve seen your hands in the food.”
(January 2011)