Open Letter to the Mom at the Supermarket...

[Ree]

Having heard too many horror stories about diapers and leaks, I've no faith in their protecting my groceries from their foul, putrid contents.

Heard any stories about salmonella from leaky wrap on fresh chicken? What about bacteria and mold left over from leaky milk cartons? Oh, and what about the bacteria from broken eggs that leaked out?
Then there's the bacteria from the soil in the plants from the produce or floral departments.

I would hope anyone who shops at a grocery store would pack any fruits and vegetables or raw, uncovered items in the plastic bags, and not place them directly on the checkout conveyor belt, anyway.

I would also hope that they would wash their hands really well when they got home, and that they would wash all the produce carefully, especially if it’s been misted.

I am not denying that diapers do leak on occasion, but to be so grossed out at seeing a small child in a diaper and automatically assume that the diaper is soiled and leaking is a bit of an overreaction, in my opinion, considering the false sense of security that makes people oblivious to the very real germs that are already on that counter.

http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/f.../problems.html

http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/f...ts20051211.ram

[Broomjockey]

Ree, keep it up and I may never be able to eat food ever again.

I think most people's issue health-wise with babies/diapers on the belt is the transmission of fecal-oral diseases. But seriously, how many babies are going to have something like that and not show signs somehow?

*futiles vows to avoid thread in the future*

[myswtghst]

I think most people's issue health-wise with babies/diapers on the belt is the transmission of fecal-oral diseases.

Again, I'd just like to mention that people put groceries and even their personal belongings up in the child seat on carts, and there have been many, many little kid butts, some in diapers, in that seat than there have been on the belt.

Granted, if we don't see it, then we don't have to think about it, eh?

[Broomjockey]

Again, I'd just like to mention that people put groceries and even their personal belongings up in the child seat on carts, and there have been many, many little kid butts, some in diapers, in that seat than there have been on the belt.

Granted, if we don't see it, then we don't have to think about it, eh?

Then again, virii don't live outside the body very long, and bacteria are pretty much everwhere, so if you don't see the kid in there, chances are the left behinds are starting to die anyway.

As Ree said, there's worse things to worry about.

[Ree]

I think most people's issue health-wise with babies/diapers on the belt is the transmission of fecal-oral diseases.

I realize that, but the E. coli on the spinach a few months ago wasn't from people letting their babies sit on the produce counter.

[Broomjockey]

Sorry, I guess I wasn't clear. I was agreeing that worrying about kids on the belt for purposes of disease transmission is silly, as you're likely to notice the kid being ill. It's the other things that have been brought up that need more attention payed to them, as you said Ree.

[Killer Bees]

I never did that when my son was a baby. It never occurred to me.

I always left him in the trolley all strapped in until I got out of the supermarket.

Some people have no sense of what's socially acceptable.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I've had numerous little kids sat up on my counter, and my biggest fear was that mom or dad would step away to look at something on a table/grab a gift card/whatever and the kid would fall off. Most times they don't walk away, but it has happened more than once. Luckily I've never had a kid fall and when the parent has stepped away I would have a hand ready to grab the back of the kid's shirt if the need arose (thank dog it never did).

[XCashier]

I never did that when my son was a baby. It never occurred to me.

I always left him in the trolley all strapped in until I got out of the supermarket.

Same here. Besides, he was a lot more comfy in his soft Floppy Seat or his car seat than he would've been on the counter or conveyor!

[saint]

Babies/kids/what have you, do not belong on the belt. End of story. Regardless of sanitation issues. The belt is to carry groceries to the cashier, not for the kid to sit on. That's what the seats on the carts are for.

[Marxfan]

A lot of my co-workers at McDonald's have babies... and they sit them on the counter too!!! You'd think they'd know better, but they don't! GRRR!

[Lace Neil Singer]

Regardless of whether or not baby poop/kids' butts are insanitary or not, the kids still shouldn't be sat on the belt. Would you still be saying that if you saw a mother changing her baby's nappy on the belt? Poop might not be as insanitary as the TB laden lettuce that a sufferer just sneezed on, but it's still icky. x.x

And I for one am a manic belt cleaner at work. The stuff we use to clean the belts is harmless to food and kids, but is pretty good at removing dirt and germs.

[Ree]

Would you still be saying that if you saw a mother changing her baby's nappy on the belt?

Obviously not, as that would be terribly inappropriate, since there are other places better suited for that job, but then, we weren't talking about a mother who was changing her child's diaper on the checkout counter, now, were we?

[Lace Neil Singer]

I think someone mentioned leaky nappies if I'm not mistaken? Not quite the same kind of thing, but we're still talking about baby poop on the belt.

[Ree]

Well, the premise of the original post was that hecubus was upset because a mother put her child on the belt. The child was wearing only a dress with a diaper, and hecubus was grossed out by it, because there was the potential for leakage on the area where the food was going to be placed.

That's a little different than comparing it to a mother changing a diaper on the belt.

In both cases, there is the potential for leakage, but in neither case is it a foregone conclusion that it will happen, however, in the second scenario, I think the risk would be much higher for it to happen than in the first case.