Lilia Lozano It was just another day in the meat factory. One with various dangerous machinery.

Every day when I walk in I could the smell of spoiled meat that we have to pack. Thankfully, we have chemicals such as Borax and Glycerine that disguise the smell of the disgusting spoiled beef. I hate when its my turn to lift up the meat from the floor that is way passed from spoiled even rats don't want to nibble on it. Yeah, they are rats in the factory but its alright cause, me and all the workers put traps and poison around the whole factory. I found some dead rats lying down the other day but some else went ahead and threw them with the meat because he couldnt find the trash can. Ive been working for a month already and I still don't know where the bathroom is so I just go do my business in the corner because thats what I see everyone else do. So far this meat packaging meat is on the top of my worst job ever list. According to the article, 100 years later, the Food Industry is still The Jungle author Adam Cohen argues that In recent years, we have been moving in the wrong direction. In the 1906 meat factories desperately needed the meat inspection act; there was rotten ham that could no longer be sold as ham. Rat droppings, rat poison and whole poisoned rats all over the factory, which is absurd there shouldnt be any rats in the factory in the first place. With all the unsanitary conditions happening poisoned rat was a tidbit. The meat inspections of 1906 influenced the congress to pass the food and drug act. In the past years restaurants arent clean as they should be because of the recent poisoning to spinach eaters and taco bell customers. Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s the typical American meals was meat, potatoes and bread; very plain meal. The impact of immigration impacted American fast food with variety a flavors and textures. According to the menu posted on www.pandaexpress.com has gotten inspired from Chinese and Japanese dishes. For example, the honey walnut shrimp dish was inspired by the shores of Beijing. The shrimp is tossed in gourmet honey sauce and topped with glazed walnuts making a combination of a sweet and crispy dish. For the menu posted on www.jackinthebox.com their chicken teriyaki bowls is inspired from Japans teriyaki flavor. Immigration has impacted food that without immigration and there different types of food, Americans would still be eating a plain meal. Eric Schlosser writes in Fast food nation that Dr.Patricia Griffin recommends food safety classes should be mandatory for fast food workers (222). As well states, that teenagers and recent immigrants may not be familiar with proper food handling. But that isnt one the only problems. At the moment, a dozen federal agencies in the United States are responsible for food safety, and twenty-eight congressional committees oversee them(264) Whats the point of having a lot of agencies and committees if it later leads to confusion and the lack of cooperation. For example the lack of cooperation between FDA and USDA has hampered efforts to reduce the levels of salmonella in American eggs. Eric Schlosser recommends that the congress should create a single food safety agency that has sufficient authority to protect the publics health.

In the research article titled Impact of Internet Posting of Restaurant Scores on Critical Violations, authors A. Blake Waters et.al. describe that the purpose of our study was to evaluate the web sites impacts on subsequent inspection result. They stated that health departments rely in training and inspections to ensure proper food handling behavior and reduce the risk of foodborne illness outbreaks. Those two procedures have been proved not effective. The five specific FDA- defined critical violations were poor hygiene practices, improper holding temperatures, inadequate equipment cleanliness, lack of protection cross contamination and improper sanitizer concentration. After the posting of restaurant inspection scores online foodborne illness-related hospitals admissions decreased 20%. In the result of their study there has been improvement ever since website posting. The top five regulations that should always be in place to protect the consumer are the following. One of them is that toilet facilities shall be provided and maintained in good repair. In other words the bathroom shall have all of its utilities at all times and shall remain clean. Employees handling or preparing food should be clean and be wearing proper attire. When employees are cleaning tables, counters, or trays they have to use a clean cloth and use sanitary spray. When in a restaurant there shouldnt be any rodents, roaches, flies anywhere. Last but not least the restaurant should be kept in good condition, such as the walls, ceilings and floors. In the tenth day of October I went to the Panda Express located in Paxton Street. I arrived at 6:27-7:00. When I arrived in the dining area I noticed that most of the tables were dirty. A few minutes later an employee came and wiped of the entire table with the same cloth but with no sanitary spray. When I saw that I thought it was gross and unsanitary how she was just passing all of the germs to each and every one of the tables. I also noticed that the employees serving the food don't wear gloves and hair nets but they dont the food but they either its unsanitary. The employees in Panda seemed very busy and concentrated in their work, I didnt have problem with them. But they didnt wash their hands often because of the fact that they were too busy. The bathroom was all right, pandas pretty new so the bathrooms arent worn out or tagged up yet. It had all of its necessities such as toilet paper, seat covers, and soap. The bathrooms cleanliness was alright just that the floor was kind of dirty and it had some wet spots on the floor. Schlosser suggests in Fast Food Nation that the consumer is responsible for their own health and safety when he writes Even in this fast food nation you can still have it your way. He describes that when we walk into a fast food restaurant we look at the kids working in the kitchen. We as consumers, we know that there are teenagers are in the kitchen making our food. What we dont know is if they follow all the restaurant regulations properly. Even that we know that, why do we go back to eat in fast food restaurants over and over again. Next time when determining what restaurant to go to investigates as much as you can from the restaurant. One way can be checking on line on the Public Health service website, to see what regulations they arent following. When, knowing the regulations that arent being followed determine whether its okay not to eat there. Ask and take recommendations from

people that have been/are familiar with the restaurant and their service. Or either check online on yelp and see what people put online. I recommend eating at the Panda Express located in Paxton Street. Some regulations arent being followed such as the tables are being cleaned without the sanitation spray and not wear glove when handling food. But the employees never touch the food they use utensils when serving the food. As for the tables you can wipe them off yourself. Either way costumers arent going to eat of the table. In conclusion, I recommend eating their, the restaurant is well cared for.

Work Citied Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Print. 100 Years Later, the Food Industry is still The Jungle New York Times Article Restaurant Grades Online Article LA county Regulations and Laws References to Upton Sinclairs The Jungle Meat Inspection Act of 1906 Restaurant menu and website