How sanitary are fast food operations?

Question

This question is directed to anyone who has worked in a fast food establishment like Mc Donalds, Burger King or Wendys.

Are standards of cleanliness upheld, or is it made to seem that way, but falls apart when no supervision is present?

Also, comment on the quality of the food itself.

Thankyou.

Answer 1

I think it has to do more with the personal hygiene of the worker than the standards in place. If a person has dirty habits at home, they will probably be the same at work, unless a good manager is there to watch over them like a hawk. This won't happen. They are in business to make money, not to educate people. As long as no one gets food poisoning, it's business as usual. I have personally see restaurant kitchens that were spotless and their employees equally hygienic, but they are very few.

Answer 2

An establishment is only as good as the management that cracks the whip is.

I have witnessed an employee at a fast food establishment with chewing tobacco in his mouth, dripping as he prepared the food. We and many others will no longer do fast food! If customers can see the ******** going on, then so should the management !!

Far too often management is sooooooo poorly trained that the moron chewing the tobacco would fit a management profile.

Standards / rules are in place, but few follow them ! And it is NOT just the fast food industry... have you ever been in the kitchen of some asian restaurants... aaaaaaaaaaaargh!! not pretty!

My U.S.D.A. health inspector friend has shed light in my direction on the restaurant industry in general. . . . and people wonder why I choose to cook at home !

I can make any "take out" / "drive through" food just as tasty and with alot hair / snot / and snag in it....

Fast food anyone ?? : ) *cough*hack*snort*

Answer 3

All the big names have established cleanliness standards and it is up to management and their team to maintain them. Franchises usually undergo regular inspection or evaluations by corporate representatives. Since a customer only has access to the public area , you can judge by the appearance of the front counter, bathrooms and staff and sometimes outside the store! Also the behaviour of staff is important : what they do with their hands , do they wash them in between tasks: handling cash and serving food, or chewing their nails while you place your order and then prepare your food. And I don't put any value in the use of plastic gloves: if they are not changed for the same reasons as hands are washed, they have no purpose.
As far as food quality, I like Wendy's. And if you have one nearby, go for Tim Hortons. They don't do burgers and fries but the soups and sandwiches are good too.

Answer 4

ok first off don't blame the managers for not cracking down enough on the crew for anything that the crew does wrong cause guess what most of the time the crew is going to follow the rules or not follow them regardless of what the manager says.....and most of the time the reason things aren't done right is because there is somewhere between 8 and 12 managers in one store and they all want things thier way and guess what they don't all think alike...this one is a clean freak...and that one could careless if things are clean its all about getting stuff stocked...and overstocking is welcomed....the next one can't stand over stocking...wants the basic cleaning jobs done and get those drive thru times down NOW!! oh and the next time you go in your going to be told how you need not worry so much about stocking and cleaning but customer service and make sure your being polite and friendly etc.....and this goes on and on and the one who was so worried about stock...next time you work with him...he'll be all worried about drive thru times and won't give to hoots about stocking.

Having said that the amount of cleanliness totally depends on who's there if you have crew who make sure sanitary proceedures are followed it probably don't matter if the manager on shift does...and if you have crew who couldn't care less about them...it doesn't matter how much the manager gets on them. At McDonald's we are supposed to sanitize our hands every 20 mins.....we even have a timer that we are supposed to set...some don't sanitize even with the timer...me I sanitize just about everytime I pass the sanitizer thing...which is about once ever 2 to 3 mins on average. We have some managers who use the timer some don't....some I see sanitize about as often as me and some I never see them sanitize...that goes for the crew as well.


P.S. I'm just a Crew Trainer

Answer 5

I worked in a couple of chains during college, as well as some 5- star restaurants. For cleanliness, I would vote hands down for the fast food places. Something falls on the floor - it gets tossed. In a high class restaurant - well- don't ask, don't tell

Answer 6

Any establishment, whether it is fast food or fine dining, is only as good and clean as it's management's enforcement of the rules. I have worked in both and after spending $25k in student loans for a culinary degree, I left the industry because the "rush" for money, more often than not, overruled the extra step(s) to do things right.

Answer 7

It depends, where I work, the ice cream machine gets washed once a week, or once every two weeks. It should be done everyday. The ice bin in the soda fountin, should be cleaned everynight, but it has never been cleaned in the two years I have been their. The drive thru ice bin, has been done 5 times in two years. If something falls on the floor in drive thru, we pick it up and give it to the customer. The tortilla warmers never get cleaned, unless cooperate is comming, so you may get dust in your tortillas. These are only a few things, if you want to talk further, email me at [e-mail]
I hope this helps you

Answer 8

Read Fast Food nation. It's gives a VERY detailed account of that.

Answer 9

The best way to find out who has the best sanitary establishments in your area is to contact the local health department in your area.

Answer 10

I work at Whataburger. The bathrooms there are NOT cleaned very often. That says it all.