A woman filmed a Wendy’s worker eating french fries directly out of the basket. The customer complained the worker wore “no gloves” while “digging through the fresh fries and eating them,” and many viewers think the customer complaint shows she’s never worked in the food service industry.
In the ten-second clip, which has over 426,000 views, TikTok user Allie Walton (@alliwalton) uploaded a video of her and an acquaintance watching a Wendy’s worker eat a fry that the worker plucked out of the basket.
Walton urged Wendy’s to “get your employees,” labeling the act “unsanitary” via a hashtag in the caption.
@alliwalton @Wendy’s get your employees #unsanitary ♬ Oh No – Kreepa
The Daily Dot reached out to Allie Walton via TikTok comment and Wendy’s via press email.
According to the New York Department of Health’s website, handling food without gloves can result in cross-contamination, which is when bacteria from one substance is transferred to another. In addition, according to Food Docs, not wearing gloves while handling food increases the risk of food-borne illnesses. “Food handlers use their hands in operating equipment, using utensils, and handling raw foods. This makes them a great mode of transferring pathogens from one point to another. If unprotected, contamination can spread and can cause an outbreak,” Food Docs states.
Despite this, most viewers let Walton know that what they caught the worker doing is an allegedly common practice in the food industry. “Every place does this,” the top comment states.
“You can tell who’s never worked in fast food/ a restaurant before,” another said.
Former food service industry employees seemingly back this notion up, sharing what menu items they’d sneak in while working at their respective joints.
“When I worked at JJs id be slicing and eating a bag of chips oops,” one said.
“Id eat the chicken strips and fries all day long when I worked at dairy queen,” another recalled.
“Lmaooo I used to do that when I worked at Steak ‘n Shake. And even chipotle I would eat the steak,” a third remembered.
