Big C, Pre Cooked Chickens

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laphanphon
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Re: Big C, Pre Cooked Chickens

Post by laphanphon »

I guessing y'all never worked in a restaurant. If so, with your statements, you'd never eat in one again.

Might get away with internal temp at 50C, considering the outside would probably be at 75C, what the internal should have been when originally cooked.

I'm cooking at the house and I drop something on the floor, don't care how long, it's getting rinsed off, and I'll continue on.

Worried about a little dirt, bacteria on your food from display. Least of your concerns. Roaches, rats, mice when the lights go out.

I've refrozen plenty of thawed meat, never a problem, though I don't keep much in the freezer past 1 month ever. How it's wrapped is more important. Your frozen meats are usually much safer than your fresh meats, which were probably frozen anyway.
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Re: Big C, Pre Cooked Chickens

Post by Takiap »

There are plenty of ironies regarding this subject. Let's see, today we are told that the internal temperature of whatever must reach this, that, or whatever before it is ready to eat. How ironic that for hundreds of years there were never any thermometers for checking this, and people managed perfectly. In fact, even today, only a very very small minority of people check the internal temperature of the food they cook. Do people who own fancy thermometers spend less time in the toilet than those who don't own such gadgets?

For years we have read and been told to rinse our chicken thoroughly before working with it. Today, we often read the exact opposite because the resultant splashing can lead to other areas/things becoming contaminated. I remember my mother always washing everything before cooking, and I'll admit that I can't recall ever getting sick or having the runs as a result of her food. However, I have never washed meat before I use it and I have never got sick or had the runs as a result of my own food either, and neither have any of my kids who happen to eat my food every day because I do their dinners.

At the end of the day, food poisoning and/or runny stomachs are no less common today than they were 100 years ago. I have lived in three countries, and I have seen no difference in the number of times I have had the runs, whether in South Africa, Scotland, or Thailand. I have only had REAL food poisoning twice in my life, once in the UK and once after visiting a Japanese restaurant in Bangkok.

Best before Dates and Expiry Dates are somewhat another irony. I have for years used many things which are past their Best Before and/or Expiry dates and I have never encountered any problems whatsoever.

I usually buy the big loaves of cheddar cheese, and it is never all used up before the expiry date, and the flavor and texture remains the same regardless of whether it is two weeks or so beyond the expiry date. I also often by large 1kg packs of bacon at Makro which have a reduced price because they are almost out of date. I get home, I repack it into two or three portions, I use one the same day or the following day, and freeze the rest until needed, and again, I've never had any problems.

Another irony about all the common hygiene advice is to do with raw eggs and the risks of salmonella. Well, I make cabonara frequently using the so called "expired" bacon from Makro, along with raw eggs, just the same as the Italians do. Again, I've never been sick from it.


At the end of the day, I think many people have become overly obsessed with food hygiene. And, the even bigger irony here is that many of those who preach about food hygiene, and ridicule the Thais for their lack of food hygiene, gladly eat food which has been cooked and prepared in places that pay very little attention to food hygiene, including 90% of the restaurants here. Many people eat this food on a daily basis without encountering any problems, and yet they will continue rambling on about food hygiene and/or a lack of it.

As far as the Big C runaway chicken is concerned, I don't think I would want to eat a chicken which has been lying on the supermarket floor, but at the same time, I seriously doubt that it would cause any problems if you did eat it. What is only the floor that is so incredibly dangerous? Some dust and a little bit of dirt? Bacteria? Well there's bacteria everywhere, even on your dinner plates at home. In fact, that little sponge you use to clean your dishes is almost certain home to more bacteria than the peace of floor where the chicken came to rest in Big C. Yes, you could leave your kitchen sponge soaking in some bleach or some other type of disinfectant, but that is probably far worse for you than a bit of bacteria.

Please ignore errors/typos in the above post - I can't be bothered checking lol.
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Re: Big C, Pre Cooked Chickens

Post by migrant »

I agree with Takiap, eating something not cooked/dirty does not guarantee a trip to the porcelain throne. There must be salmonella, or some other bad guy.

That being said the guidelines help with assuring you don't lose the diarrhea lottery. I've also had food poisoning twice so follow the guidelines (mostly) since it wasn't fun.
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Re: Big C, Pre Cooked Chickens

Post by HHTel »

In the west there seems to be more 'upset stomachs' than there used to be. I'm not sure if there's evidence of this but I believe that in our super hygienic world that we live in has prevented the natural immunity developing. I'm sure a lot of the illnesses we suffer today is because everything is so sterile now. When I think back to my childhood, I don't remember having the 'runs' and hygiene was way down the list. We (and many others) didn't have a fridge. In our case food was kept in the larder for days on end.
When I worked in the Co-op as a boy, one of my jobs was to brush the meat that was on the turn with milk to bring back the colour. The meat had been in the window all the previous day and was turning blue. Wouldn't be allowed today of course but I never heard of it causing problems.
My mother used to say "A bit of muck isn't going to harm you and where there's muck, there's brass"

I agree with an earlier post that if you saw what goes on in some restaurant kitchens then you wouldn't want to eat there again.

Coming back to the chicken on the floor. It's certainly not acceptable being that it was 'seen'. Otherwise "What the eye doesn't see, the stomach will not grieve!" (Most of the time)
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Re: Big C, Pre Cooked Chickens

Post by laphanphon »

Takiap wrote: Sat Jun 23, 2018 9:33 am I think many people have become overly obsessed with food hygiene.

And, the even bigger irony here is that many of those who preach about food hygiene, and ridicule the Thais for their lack of food hygiene,

gladly eat food which has been cooked and prepared in places that pay very little attention to food hygiene, including 90% of the restaurants here. Many people eat this food on a daily basis without encountering any problems, and yet they will continue rambling on about food hygiene and/or a lack of it.
No arguments here.

As stated also, simply guidelines for the extremely ignorant.

I'm one that uses a thermometer, not for hygiene, but to make sure I don't over cook a decent piece of meat, and ruin it. :cheers: It makes a huge difference. :thumb:
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Re: Big C, Pre Cooked Chickens

Post by oakdale160 »

The 5star hotels are meticulous about hygiene and yet in 10 years in China the worst attack of the runs that I had was after eating at the Hilton and I ate in some really suspicious places.
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Re: Big C, Pre Cooked Chickens

Post by laphanphon »

I used to do deliveries to restaurants in the USA, and was surprised about state of the kitchen in the highly rated, very popular ones. Some were just gross.

Quite contrary to 5* = good hygiene.
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Re: Big C, Pre Cooked Chickens

Post by Takiap »

HHTel wrote: Sat Jun 23, 2018 10:56 am I'm not sure if there's evidence of this but I believe that in our super hygienic world that we live in has prevented the natural immunity developing. I'm sure a lot of the illnesses we suffer today is because everything is so sterile now. When I think back to my childhood, I don't remember having the 'runs' and hygiene was way down the list.

Very true. In fact, just the other day I was reading an article in the news about a team of researchers who have spent decades studying one of the most common forms of childhood leukemia. After researching and review thousands and thousands of cases, they now believe that the leading cause of this disease is a lack of exposure to things like bacteria and etc. They argue that most children in the developed world, and particularly those in the more wealthy countries, are not adequately exposed to all the "bad guys" which would in turn allow their immune systems to better develop. They strain of leukemia they are referring to is apparently initially caused by an infection which would usually be taken care of by the immune system if it has had the chance to develop properly. As they point out in their finding, this strain of childhood leukemia is almost unheard of in 3rd world countries and countries where children don't live in such sterile conditions.

These days, many parents are terrified to let their children be children. They don't want them to get dirty, and of course they don't want them exposed to germs and etc. As a result, their immune systems are not having a chance to develop properly, and I think this also applies to foods.

What about all the millions of children who eat foods/snacks with dirty hands every day without it ever making them sick in any way. After touching literally hundreds of different things, I am quite certain that Big C's floor is no more contaminated with germ than the hands of many children, and even adults.

As I said in my previous post, there are so many ironies regarding the official "hygienic food" line. Eggs are another example. People want perfectly clean eggs, preferably ones which have been washed. The problem with this is that once you wash eggs, you remove a natural protective coating, allowing the eggs to spoil a lot quicker. Another irony involves storing eggs in the fridge, something which is really only necessary if the eggs have been washed. Still, they should actually not be stored at the top of the fridge where the egg trays are usually located.

Anyway, each to their own I guess.

:cheers:
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Re: Big C, Pre Cooked Chickens

Post by Pleng »

oakdale160 wrote: Sat Jun 23, 2018 11:24 am The 5star hotels are meticulous about hygiene and yet in 10 years in China the worst attack of the runs that I had was after eating at the Hilton and I ate in some really suspicious places.
And how do you know that the food from the Hilton was the cause?
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Re: Big C, Pre Cooked Chickens

Post by europtimiste »

StevePIraq wrote: Thu Jun 21, 2018 5:14 pm Saw a little incident at Big C the other day which I thought worth mentioning.

After getting my trolley I walked up past the veg area only to see a roast chickens laying on the floor, I called the female attendant and pointed out this health risk thinking it would go straight in the bin. I finished my shopping some 20/30 minutes later and getting my frozen foods as the last thing only to see the roast chicken still laying on the floor. I called the woman over and again showed her, she promptly came running around with a pair of tongs no doubt to avoid getting her hands dirty, picked up the chicken and put it straight back on display. I told her you can't do that, she just said don't worry it will be ok.

Obviously very little in the way of health training at Big C.

I never buy any of the pre cooked food there.
With a little presence of mind anybody would report this incident to the manager of BigC.
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Re: Big C, Pre Cooked Chickens

Post by europtimiste »

404cameljockey wrote: Fri Jun 22, 2018 6:46 pm
HHTel wrote: Fri Jun 22, 2018 3:17 pm They say how hot it is in HH when the temperature goes above 30 or so.
warm adjective (TEMPERATURE)

A1 having or producing a comfortably high temperature, although not hot:

Are you warm enough or do you want me to put the heating on?
I put my hands in my pockets to keep them warm.

A2 Warm clothes and covers are made of a material that keeps you warm:

I don't have a warm winter coat.
Those gloves look nice and warm.
A1 having a high temperature:

a hot, sunny day
hot weather
a hot drink/meal
It's too hot in here, can we turn down the heating?
Bake the cake in a hot oven, about 220°C, for 30 minutes.
The food was piping hot (= very hot).
More examples

In hot weather, we sell masses of cold drinks and ice creams.
Do you want this pie hot?
Is the water hot enough for a bath?
She passed him a mug of hot black coffee.
I like to sunbathe in the morning when the sun is not so hot.
You need to learn the difference between 'warm' and 'hot'
Would be nice if we can get past the fact that he doesn't want to understand the semantic difference between warm and hot. You'e just labouring the point now.
Must have a twisted mind not to understand to warm food (in an oven) and compare to heat under sun.
All this bla..bla I will consider maybe British humor.
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Re: Big C, Pre Cooked Chickens

Post by europtimiste »

Takiap wrote: Sat Jun 23, 2018 9:33 am

At the end of the day, food poisoning and/or runny stomachs are no less common today than they were 100 years ago. I have lived in three countries, and I have seen no difference in the number of times I have had the runs, whether in South Africa, Scotland, or Thailand. I have only had REAL food poisoning twice in my life, once in the UK and once after visiting a Japanese restaurant in Bangkok.


What do you consider a food poisoning ???? For me it means hospitalization and pump your stomach.
A stomach upset or an indigestion is something that can happens anytime and anywhere.
In Europa they have the obsession to keep nearly everything in fridge as ex. eggs. Here eggs are carried on pick ups and motobikes under hot sun and kept in room temperature. Did you or anybody else had a poisoning ?
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Re: Big C, Pre Cooked Chickens

Post by Khundon1975 »

oakdale160 wrote: Fri Jun 22, 2018 7:35 am A scientific fact/cooking tip. Microwave is very good at killing bacteria. Whenever I an cooking Chicken or pork, particularly if BBQing, I wash the meat off well and then put them in the M/W for 2 mins first..
We never wash either chicken or pork that we have bought from shops.
Washing causes the spread of bacteria and other bugs and
contaminates the sink and other work prep surfaces.
You are going to cook the meat, which will kill any bugs, so why bother washing it!
Cut it up and slap it in the oven, in a pot,or on the BBQ.
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Re: Big C, Pre Cooked Chickens

Post by HHTel »

In Europa they have the obsession to keep nearly everything in fridge as ex. eggs.
I suggest you read this:
Why Europeans Don't Refrigerate Eggs But Americans Do
Source: http://uk.businessinsider.com/why-europ ... gs-2014-12
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Re: Big C, Pre Cooked Chickens

Post by europtimiste »

HHTel wrote: Sat Jun 23, 2018 5:05 pm
In Europa they have the obsession to keep nearly everything in fridge as ex. eggs.
I suggest you read this:
Why Europeans Don't Refrigerate Eggs But Americans Do
Source: http://uk.businessinsider.com/why-europ ... gs-2014-12
All this is bullshit.
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