Desktop Dining Guide

Clean, Safe, and Healthy

-- By Becky Hand, Licensed & Registered Dietitian

Your workplace may be a bacterial breeding ground—germier than a public restroom! Think about how long that cheese ball sat in the conference room, the number of hands that have reached into the candy jar in the lobby, and the last time you properly washed your coffee mug. YUCK! For the safety of you and your coworkers, adopt these desktop dining guidelines as company policy.

Watch the Clock
If you pack a lunch that includes perishable food items—meat and cheese sandwiches, leftovers, salads, or dairy foods—don't let more than two hours pass from the time you make your lunch at home to the time you put it in the office refrigerator. The same rule applies if you go out for lunch and bring back fast food, carry out, or doggy bag.

Refrigerator Review
The average office refrigerator is cleaned out only once every six weeks, even though most perishable foods spoil within three to five days! The office refrigerator should be cleaned out weekly, but no one wants to take on the responsibility, right? The solution is to assign each person who uses the refrigerator to a specific week in which they are responsible for pitching and purging. Anything left at closing time Friday is pitched. Post the weekly delegations on the refrigerator door, and if it's a disaster come Monday morning, everyone will be able to determine who's to blame.

Page 1 of 3   Next Page >       Return to Main nutrition Page >

• CMBELISLE "I quit using our fridge as it is always full of stuff no one is eating. Ins..."
• CARSPG "I work with lots of seniors who work with children and other more fragile s..."
• CAROLJ35 "Hadn't heard of these two ways to sanitize dish cloths and sponges. I put..."

See All 16  |  Leave A Comment