Clean Those Groceries
A stock clerk was sent to clean up a storeroom in Maui, Hawaii.
When he got back, he was complaining that the storeroom was really filthy and that he had noticed dried mouse or rat droppings in some areas. A couple of days later, he started to feel like he was coming down with a stomach flu, complained of sore joints and headaches, and began to vomit.
He went to bed and never really got up again. Within two days he was severely ill and weak. His blood sugar count was down to 66, and his face and eyeballs were yellow. He was rushed to the emergency at Pali-Momi, where he was diagnosed to be suffering from massive organ failure. He died shortly before midnight.
No one would have made the connection between his job and his death, had it not been for a doctor who specifically asked if he had been in a warehouse or exposed to dried rat or mouse droppings at any time. They said there is a virus (much like the Hanta virus) that lives in dried rat and mouse droppings.
Once dried, these droppings are like dust and can easily be breathed in or ingested if a person does not wear protective gear or fails to wash face and hands thoroughly.
An autopsy was performed on the clerk to verify the doctor's suspicions.
This is why it is extremely important to ALWAYS carefully rinse off the tops of canned sodas or foods, and to wipe off pasta packaging, cereal boxes, and so on.
Almost everything you buy in a supermarket was stored in a warehouse at one time or another, and stores themselves often have rodents.
Most of us remember to wash vegetables and fruits but never think of boxes and cans.
The ugly truth is, even the most modern, upper-class, super store has rats and mice. And their warehouse most assuredly does!
Whenever you buy any canned soft drink, please make sure that you wash the top with running water and soap or, if that is not available, drink with a straw.
The investigation of soda cans by the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta discovered that the tops of soda cans can be encrusted with dried rat's urine, which is so toxic it can be lethal. Canned drinks and other foodstuffs are stored in warehouses and containers that are usually infested with Rodents, and then they get transported to retail outlets without being properly cleaned.
Clean Those Groceries
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GalvestonDuck
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The stock clerk was in Maui and they flew him to Honolulu as he was dying, instead of taking him to the ER at a Maui hospital? No wonder the poor kid died. He didn't get immediate treatment.
Not sure how all those rat droppings are going to get on food packages or soda cans in a warehouse. Most soda cans would be in cases before they leave the bottling company so the cans would be covered. And all those cereal, pasta, and packages of other things would be in boxes on pallets.
Of course, no reason not to clean veggies, fruits, and keep other things clean. But I wouldn't worry about rat droppings or urine.
Not sure how all those rat droppings are going to get on food packages or soda cans in a warehouse. Most soda cans would be in cases before they leave the bottling company so the cans would be covered. And all those cereal, pasta, and packages of other things would be in boxes on pallets.
Of course, no reason not to clean veggies, fruits, and keep other things clean. But I wouldn't worry about rat droppings or urine.
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To GalvestonDuck and others--you are more trusting than I. I once was, but then I learned differently...
Grand Union had chocolate chips on sale--so I reached in for a bag of chocolate chips and came up with a warm furry body! Needless to say, I dropped it and shrieked--but then looked in and there was the whole family of mice!
I called the manager over to show him and he rooted around until he found a bag they had not chewed into and tried to hand it to me. Needless to say I did not want it--even when he offered it for free!
But you know that he sold those chocolate chips to someone else...
I regularly inspect stuff that I buy before I use it and when I can I look in the store. If you look, you can actually detect the small holes that grain weevils bore in the boxes of pasta, pouches of grains etc. etc. etc.--but you have to be looking for them--and even then, I don't find a lot of the until I get home--or sometimes I actually get the pasta into the pot of boiling water and see their little bodies float to the top! I've been told that virtually all pasta, grain products, etc. have weevils in some form long before they get home from the store.
Just because something is in a box on a pallet does not mean that mice, rats, etc. can't get to them. Even with shrink wrap etc. on the pallets.
And once it gets to the grocery store, they open the case, but frequently do not put out the whole case at once. And yes, the back rooms and storage areas of grocery stores have rodents and bugs!
Washing off the tops of all cans and jars (with soapy water) is a good idea. The rat urine may not poison you, but the idea is pretty disgusting. The weevils in the flour, pasta, etc. won't hurt you (extra protein, I guess), but they, too are disgusting. As for bringing home bugs with your groceries (common in New York City), that's a problem because you don't want your own infestation...
Frankly, I don't believe that the food industry is all that careful about sanitation all down the line. I know that many stockboys, other misc. supermarket employees are conscientious and responsible, etc., but there are others who just are not! Do you really think that that jerky kid who dropped the canned goods in the bag on top of your tomatoes when he packed your groceries is going to be conscientious about reporting a few mouse droppings?
By the way, there was a death on Nantucket last year I believe (might have been 2 years ago) from that rodent-dropping disease that is related to Hanta virus. In his case, he worked for a contractor that was cleaning out a house that had been vacant for a while.
Anyone who works around rodent droppings is apparently at risk--they have warnings in the news media periodically.
Grand Union had chocolate chips on sale--so I reached in for a bag of chocolate chips and came up with a warm furry body! Needless to say, I dropped it and shrieked--but then looked in and there was the whole family of mice!
I called the manager over to show him and he rooted around until he found a bag they had not chewed into and tried to hand it to me. Needless to say I did not want it--even when he offered it for free!
But you know that he sold those chocolate chips to someone else...
I regularly inspect stuff that I buy before I use it and when I can I look in the store. If you look, you can actually detect the small holes that grain weevils bore in the boxes of pasta, pouches of grains etc. etc. etc.--but you have to be looking for them--and even then, I don't find a lot of the until I get home--or sometimes I actually get the pasta into the pot of boiling water and see their little bodies float to the top! I've been told that virtually all pasta, grain products, etc. have weevils in some form long before they get home from the store.
Just because something is in a box on a pallet does not mean that mice, rats, etc. can't get to them. Even with shrink wrap etc. on the pallets.
And once it gets to the grocery store, they open the case, but frequently do not put out the whole case at once. And yes, the back rooms and storage areas of grocery stores have rodents and bugs!
Washing off the tops of all cans and jars (with soapy water) is a good idea. The rat urine may not poison you, but the idea is pretty disgusting. The weevils in the flour, pasta, etc. won't hurt you (extra protein, I guess), but they, too are disgusting. As for bringing home bugs with your groceries (common in New York City), that's a problem because you don't want your own infestation...
Frankly, I don't believe that the food industry is all that careful about sanitation all down the line. I know that many stockboys, other misc. supermarket employees are conscientious and responsible, etc., but there are others who just are not! Do you really think that that jerky kid who dropped the canned goods in the bag on top of your tomatoes when he packed your groceries is going to be conscientious about reporting a few mouse droppings?
By the way, there was a death on Nantucket last year I believe (might have been 2 years ago) from that rodent-dropping disease that is related to Hanta virus. In his case, he worked for a contractor that was cleaning out a house that had been vacant for a while.
Anyone who works around rodent droppings is apparently at risk--they have warnings in the news media periodically.
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wx247
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You are right Windsong. I believe this is also at Snopes.
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