A

Lol, I wouldn't say it's optimal to drop food on the floor, then eat it, but I do still think it is less nasty than eating unwashed strawberries;-)

I have 6 sinks, one exclusively for produce, and one exclusively for mop water, so both are pretty nasty, but if I *had* to chose! [IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/2903543/width/200/height/400[/IMG]

LOL!

Since I wasn't clear, the unwashed strawberries were not ever cooked. Just sliced and put inside a cake or on top of a cake with a glaze. I felt like I was in the twilight zone. Oh, and there were the occasional unwashed chocolate dipped strawberries. If it makes anyone feel better, I heard that bakery manager has since died.  He was close to retirement age and I think no one wanted to fire him.

Edit: I mean "feel better" in the sense that the situation must surely be improved there. I know no one is wishing death on him :)
 

this unfortunately is a commonplace occurrence in many establishments serving fruit & fruit tarts especially because the crust/product sogs out if the fruit is damp/wet and the fruit also deteriorates faster--not saying it's right

That is very true Kate. They do get all squishy and runny, I do my dipped strawberries last minute.

FYI, for people who aren't sufficiently outraged by not washing produce, especially berries, Apples have pesticides sprayed on them, and fertilizers are but into the ground, but berries grow close to the ground, so the are sprayed directly with the fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. Oh, and in many countries they use "human fertilizers" (as in human poop), and many of the farmers around here where it is frowned upon, still have workers who think nothing of it, laugh at our "silly uppity ways" and poop in the fields. But it could still be horse poop, or cow poop. And bird poop. 

Whether or not health regulations are enforced may depend on where you are, perhaps?  I'm just thinking...we were maybe inspected twice a year by the local health authority when I worked for Former Employer.  We always had advance notice, and we'd go into overdrive with the cleaning and such a few days beforehand.  We'd try our damndest to keep it that way after the inspection (which we always passed), but, as someone upthread said, a lot of places with production timetables will NOT give you the time to properly clean.  I've worked in some stores where there was literal mold growing on some of the muffin tins because they hadn't been properly washed/dried for lack of time

Where I work now, we have a company hygienic standard to maintain, so they build time for cleaning in with the production timetable.  We're inspected regularly by both the municipal health authority AND the company sanitation inspector, who will come in without warning at any given time.  Not all supermarkets do this, which baffles me to no end.  Maybe they don't have the budget nor the manpower nor...whatever?

location would def play in as well as each different type/class of establishment gets a certain number of inspections too

example--a mall baked goods store would be inspected once or twice a year--

if they pass--see yah next year

a full blown bakery or restaurant would be inspected more often, quarterly, maybe monthly, every six weeks

it's not a one size fits all

if it is a problem child they check more of course

not to mention as exampled up-thread it varies greatly from inspector to inspector even within the same jurisdiction

edited to fix typo

AThe only place I consistently get mold is in my produce sink. I won't use it for a month, then use it often, it doesn't matter. It has some gapping thing, where the water pipe is intentionally cut from the bottom of the sink, and some big bowl like pipe catches it... Anyway, it is so in case of sewer backup there will never be sewage in there, but for some reason it molds like no tomorrow. I always use a colander anyway, because I always have. But I have to bleach it out every few days, and it is always filled with mold. I hate it.

AIf you are looking to get paid top dollars and have all the benefits like corporate forget about it. The food industry is tough. You have got to LOVE what you do. Coming from the hair industry to baking and cake difference not a big difference. The pay is not high whether you work for someone or for yourself which then, if you think what you are experiencing is hard try running a business yourself.

Funny you should post this..i just started a new bakery job (my first one) and I could've written your words. I was wondering about the 'trial' day. My boss didn't mark that day on my paystub and i was wondering if i was going to get paid for it.  I didn't know it was common in this industry to not get paid for that day.  Glad I didn't ask about it.lol  But man, I worked my ass off and think I should be paid but I'm not about to make waves.  

Cleanliness..yup I'm having issues with that too. My kitchen and cake supplies are always kept very clean and organized. I can't say I have noticed that in my new job.  It's really hard for me to look at and I find myself wiping down stuff every chance I get.  I would love to spend a day in there  just to organize and clean clean clean.

I could go on and on but I won't.  I have to tell you my first impression of a bakery has really left me shocked and a bit discouraged. I'm taking it one day at a time.  I honestly thought my previous job of  registered nurse was physically demanding...ya well..this cake decorating job is so much more strenuous on the body. My break today..10min for my 8hr shift. My back and feet are aching but I have to say I REALLY enjoy doing it in spite of everything. So for now I will just observe and am hopeful in time I will have a say in how things are done..My first thing on that list..regular scheduled cleaning routine. If you don't respect your environment I believe it sends a really bad message to your employees about cutting corners everywhere.