Goor: delivery meal boxes are full of bacteria
Fancy a pizza party at home? Or some delicious sushi on the couch? You might want to think twice before calling the delivery driver. Those meal boxes they use to bring your food are probably full of bacteria.
That is according to research by the Italian culinary magazine Gambero Rosso. In one box, the researchers found no fewer than 200 bacterial colonies. Uhm, maybe skip that pizza after all.
Dirtier than a restaurant floor
The meal box in which the 200 bacterial colonies were found looked clean at first glance. For example, there were no visible dirty spots, and the researchers did not smell any strange odours. The results of the study tell a very different story. 200 bacterial colonies is no less than three times as many as officially permitted on a restaurant floor. If that were the result of a hygiene inspection in a restaurant, the establishment would have to close immediately. And yet a courier with such a dirty meal box can simply continue making deliveries.
Little control over meal boxes
Gambero Rosso finds it bizarre that there is so little control over meal boxes. Restaurants are inspected regularly, while meal delivery services apparently are not. The research shows that many meals are not properly packaged inside the boxes, which could be a reason for the significant bacterial growth. It is pretty strange that this is handled so leniently. Whether you are sitting in a restaurant or having a meal delivered to your home, in both situations you are consuming food. And that can affect your health.
Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority
So far, the research has only been conducted in Italy, among Italian meal delivery services. Here in the Netherlands, no figures are yet available on the hygiene conditions of meal boxes. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority—which generally conducts such research—is working on it. The results of this research are expected by the end of this year.
Also read:
- Albert Heijn is now going to deliver its own meals to your home
- Need a drink? Uber is going to deliver it!
- Ding-dong! Here is the meal you ordered!
Source: NOS and AD
