r/science • u/eastbayted • 2d ago

Health Sick food service workers remain top driver of viral foodborne outbreaks in US

https://www.healio.com/news/gastroenterology/20250331/sick-food-service-workers-remain-top-driver-of-viral-foodborne-outbreaks-in-us
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232

u/StopLevelingDex 2d ago

In the US it violates health code to come to food service work while sick, or at least it did when I worked in it. Yet most food service workers cannot afford to miss a shift. Just another broken system in the Land of the Free.

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u/Odin_69 2d ago

And it's not like regulators can just sit around waiting for sick people to show up for work. Yet that is who the industry has decided is in charge of reprimanding the service industry.

The actual workers have no power. Call in too much and you just get less shifts, eventually frozen out, and replaced.

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u/bythog 2d ago

If you're told you are still to work while sick you can inform the health department yourself. An inspector will likely show up and, if they are at all adequate at their job, they'll ream the hell out of the place. Depending on symptoms they can be closed.

Workers have more power than they think.

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u/bkks 2d ago

Workers have always had the power to get themselves fired, I guess. Is that your point here?

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u/Weirfish 2d ago

Unfortunately, using the power they have has a high risk of putting that worker out of a job.

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u/bythog 2d ago

Not using it can and has killed people. People die from foodborne illness daily.

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u/tastyratz 2d ago

Sometimes the "right" thing isn't the accessible thing but a moral position only those with benefits can afford to take.

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u/Weirfish 2d ago

People aren't entirely selfless, altruistic, objective, utilitarian machines, though. It shouldn't be surprising that they pick security against homelessless for themselves and their family, or even security against jail in the case of something like child support, rather than the hypothetical, unrealised health of complete strangers, especially when they're being outwardly coerced by management. It's not a Nuremberg Defense if the person making the order credibly threatens to kill you.

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u/TheHighSeasPirate 2d ago

They really need to mandate tip sharing. Theres no reason the FOH should make 20-50/hr while the BOH gets paid peanuts to do an actual skilled job. Glad pay is finally going up for line cooks but it isn't even close to what it should be.

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u/Hobbes42 2d ago

If you don’t think bartending or serving is a skilled job, then I absolutely guarantee you’ve never done it.

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u/TheHighSeasPirate 2d ago

I've worked every single job from server to kitchen manager. Serving is by far the easiest job in the entire restaurant. Bar tending is a skilled trade and requires a lot of recipe knowledge and multi-tasking. Serving is nothing more than dealing with nasty customers and serving food and drinks. It takes no skill what so ever and honestly the pay discrepancy between a server and a cook is disgusting; especially in a high volume restaurant. I feel bad for every single line cook in America, they deserve twice the pay.