So, let’s talk about feet for a second. Some people love to live a barefoot life, and that means exploring the world with your heels and toes. For others, feet are kind of gross. Meaning, they look funny, they often have a smell to them, and while people are lucky to have them, socks are a blessing. Both sides can probably agree that feet should have nothing to do with food prep, right?
Well, that’s not what one Subway employee thought. A photo went viral of an Ann Arbor Subway worker who had her bare feet up right next to food containers. And look, I get it — sometimes it’s important to relax a little after being on your feet all day. But that’s simply not the place for them. Bare feet — or feet of any kind — don’t belong near the sandwich toppings.
The image was posted on Facebook by Tara Williams, who visited the location after going to her niece’s basketball game. After eating, she was alerted that one of the Subway employees was taking a phone call, with her bare feet resting right by the toppings. That’s definitely a sight that’ll cause you to lose your appetite.
Tara Renee / Facebook
“This is at the Subway on State St. near the U of M! Quite disgusting!” she wrote on January 12th. “I’m sure the health dept would have an issue with this. Bon appetit 🤮”
The message did manage to make its way to both Subway and the health department. But, the internet also had something to say about it.
Cue the Subway footlong jokes......
— mark kaline (@MarkKaline) January 15, 2019
The photo gathered around 1.2 comments on Facebook, and was shared almost 10k times. That caused Subway to release a statement pretty quickly. “The behavior in this photo is inconsistent with the high standards Subway Franchise Owners follow,” Kip Klopfenstein, a business development agent for Subway, said, according to Munchies. “Their top priorities include food safety and cleanliness, and this is unacceptable.”
Still, it might make you think twice before going to Subway. You probably assumed their assortment of sandwich toppings was a good thing, but now? There are just more things that could have negatively interacted with a tired worker’s feet.
For those who typically frequent that particular location if they want to “Eat Fresh,” just know it now may be the cleanest of them all. Not only did they sanitize the area, but they gave the employees a pretty important reminder about the importance of food safety. Going viral can be embarrassing, so it’s safe to say that none of the employees there will be making this huge mistake again.
The other piece of good news is that this location had gotten a clean inspection recently, so this was likely just a one-time mistake that was caught on camera. Everyone forgets to think things through on occasion, and surely this isn’t a reflection on Subway as a whole.
In fact, it’s a reminder that we should always keep an eye out for food prep safety and cleanliness when we can. Even Taco Bell was in the news recently for food handed over to a police officer that reportedly tasted a little like bleach.
Anyone who does this needs to be charged with attempted murder and if found guilty put in prison for a decade or more.
— Gabe, Bella, and their humom Susan (@SWestler) September 30, 2018
Charge that sick #SOB with attempted murder! #AlwaysBackTheBlue #BlueLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/J1Ll5OXVeC
— EXTREME ULTRA MAGA Yolonda M Brown (@Moniera1) September 30, 2018
As always, if you see (or taste) something that seems off, report it. You may very well be protecting the health of those around you.
And as for those who work in fast food, remember — you are completely deserving of a break, and the work you do can often be grueling. Just try not to take that break by the food with your feet up on the counter.
