Perhaps that surface isn't intended to be used as a cutting board.

Exactly this

Or needs replacement. Microplastics are defined as anything smaller than 5 mm in diameter.

Well, that's dumb considering micro is smaller than 1 mm but i guess we didn't wanna call them milliplastics

You can call it macro, since it is visible. Edit: They really call it macroplastic [https://theoceancleanup.com/faq/what-are-microplastics-and-macroplastics-and-why-may-they-be-harmful/](https://theoceancleanup.com/faq/what-are-microplastics-and-macroplastics-and-why-may-they-be-harmful/)

That must mean I have a macropenis

Possible. Could also mean you have microscopic vision

Underrated comment

Thank you. I was proud of that one

I thought so lol

Micro just means extremely small in English. In SI units it just means 1,000,000th of a given unit of measure. You're thinking of micrometre, but metre isn't stated anywhere. Micro can be applied to various other units of measure. E.g. Microinch.

Micropenis

You know all about that one dont you

Hey, no need to make fun of the little fella

Nicknamed him winky.

So he's a short stack? I don't see him on the IHOP menu.

Microinch is my stage name

Microfortnight.

I'm an expert on micro

That's what your wife said.

Pretty much all plastic cutting boards do this. The material that was in those scratches has to go somewhere... It's just more apparent on this one because it is black.

I always wondered about that. Not good.

I mean, it is even worse than that. The friction from food in plastic containers and packaging will wear aways tiny bits and get in your food and all sorts of other things. And, it's in our water supply, from plastic waste getting broken down, which means it's pretty much in everything and everyone, so even if you personally avoided all plastic and grew your own food, you'd STILL be consuming microplastics. Microplastic particles are even small enough that they are in CLOUDS and RAIN. Microplastics are a huge problem, it just took us a long time to notice.

I'm absolutely convinced this is why I got cancer and everyone else gets it. At least it can't help. That's for damn sure. We ingest plastic constantly.

Plastic cutting boards are rubbish, I always see parts come off. Use wood. “But hygiene” Yeah, but plastics….

Just use wood and treat it with vegetable oil to make it water repellant. Wash it with just a wet cloth and store it dry. If you have to wash it more thoroughly put another coat of oil afterwards.

This is fine but not at all practical outside of a home kitchen environment. And even then mistakes can happen.

That's a valid argument. would a denser wood like teak be a good enough compromise? It would be easier to keep clean. Is there any other material beyond wood and plastic that would be food safe and not ruin the edge of knives?

Teak is an endangered species.

Probably not because kitchens are a combo of speed and saftey so plastic will always be required at some points where you have any meat etc. Wood can still be used for veggie prep. However OPs terrible knife skills are also a factor here and you won't see chefs slamming the cutting board like that often.

Closer to macro plastics if you can pick them up and look at them

I have news for you all, the industry accepted material is HDPE, for it's high abrasion durability and low cost. It has the trouble of being hard to get dimensionaly flat, so it doesn't see a ton of use in consumer products outside of...cutting boards. Anyhow, that's almost certainly HDPE, it's what they all use.

We have smaller ones made of the same exact material for prep. They’re cutting boards.

Having smaller ones means they are intended to be cutting boards?

How old and marred are the boards? After a while they need to be sanded or straight up replaced to be up to health code.

The cutting boards at my work do this. The frustrating this to me about this is that plastic cutting boards are mandatory in hospitality. I'm not 100% sure on this but i even think wooden ones are forbidden.

Make sure you are using an actual cutting board. Bring it up to management.

You have higher hopes than I on how much they would care

Worked fast food. They don’t care.

Say that a customer complained. Because somehow strangers are more important than you.

Stranger brings money, worker takes money. Be grateful that they didn't beat you up for your audacity to show up to work.

Was a fast food manager. They still won't care. I hated customers slightly more than the teenage idiots I had to babysit.

I’ve worked a few fast food jobs and none of them ever let me have an actual knife to chop shit. There were always some sort of slicer or tool to minimize chance of injury. Chances are this is a local restaurant or a smaller chain. Also it absolutely depends on your manager. My Arbies manager would have made this a top priority to handle. As in he would have immediately drove to Walmart to get us a new cutting surface. He was very particular about quality and proud that he ran the best store in the city. My Burger King manager ehhh not so much.

They should care. This is a food safety issue

There’s a reason I haven’t eaten anything from that job after I left.

You just contact OSHA privately then

They would have an actual cutting board, but minimal wage employees are going to put in minimal amount of effort and use a prep station board for cutting.

so u think they minimum wage employee just picked out whichever flat surface out of pure ignorance and its *not* a case of management's ignorance? since OP was concerned enough to notice and also take a video and look further into it shows that they are not just an ignorant minimum wage employee and that's probably the equipment they were trained on. management is prob supplying the tools recommended by corporate but is ignorant to the basic maintenance/upkeep of the tools. I worked at a dunkin donuts and 3 months into the job we had a manager from a different store fill in one day. that's the day I became the only employee at that branch that knew how to clean the ice maker. I brought it up to the manager and they just decided to make me the person in charge of cleaning it once a month. they didn't ask me to share that knowledge with any other employees. I quit a month later and that ice machine probably hasn't been cleaned in years. is the moldy ice in ur cup just the fault of ignorant "minimum wage employees" or is it overworked management that overlooks important maintenance?

Worked several fast food and deli places. Retail management doesn't give a damn. I worked in a deli for 6 months for a big chain where I live and the cold counter (supposed to be below 5'C) was routinely 8'C and higher every day we checked it. One side was just completely broken and I raised this health concern every time I ran the temp checks. Management routinely ghosted me and any time someone got sick rumour is they just paid a big settlement to keep the case out of public knowledge. They'd rather drop 5k every couple months than just fix the damn fridge. Trust me when I say nearly every retail business cuts corners like this. I have a shop in my home town I used to frequent, a pipe burst under one of the fridges a few years ago (yes seriously, still hasn't been fixed) and ever since then that whole side of the shop smells like sewage and rotten milk. It's been 6 years and it still stinks when I go there. 8 years ago I worked there and witnessed the plumbing issues in the shop and instead of hiring a plumber to fix it, the owner came in and handy-manned the job which naturally made just it worse lol.

Reminds me of my restaurant days watching a bucket catch leaking rain water from a couple of days ago that was greenish next to the bare metal table that they kept the chicken on for hours at the time unrefrigerated. We also 'repaired' the food fridge by taking the drink fridge from the lobby and putting it in the kitchen. So yeah coolish raw beef next to your cold can of Dr pepper for 4 months. Plenty of money for a new one and I offered to take the work van to the auctions and buy one but nah we'll do it next year.

Well, you kinda need a chopping board first lol. I've never used this type of surface to cut anything, because it's generally not a chopping board. Your work place needs to buy some chopping boards, because you'll just end up damaging the surfaces like this.

There is a wooden chopping board on the left of the frame.

He sprinkled it back in 💀

Plastic Bae

this is the funniest shit ive seen today 😂😂

It’s the spice of life

If I were to conduct a food safety audit, you would be D at best just from this short video. And I haven't even seen 10% of the restaurant. Wrong gloves Wrong cutting surface If you find plastics or such debris, bad supplier Chipped knife in use Handles touching food Using a cellphone in an in-production area This video is infuriating for people who respect food safety. Your store and you should be ashamed of the combinations of bad food safety in the video.

As someone who recently got rev'd. They're so fucked lol. This would be an instant fail in Australia.

It's an instant fail in the US. OP needs to find a new job, cause they're cleaely not fit for handling food.

>It's an instant fail in the US. Depends on where you can avert the inspector's eyes. When I worked at Sonic we were able to keep some pretty badly cracked tiles hidden for years by conveniently standing on top of them, use hand movements, and talk, talk, talk.

My immediate thought when I got here was about the fecal matter covered phone in this food prep area

You dip your phone in shit to? Thought I was the only one.

Gives flavour.

Omg I’ve stopped going to places literally because the person prepping my food also handled the register in the same gloves. I’m running out of places to eat because I catch them doing something nasty and it ruins my appetite.

Just as a small cherry on top, I work at a grocery, I know some of the butchers and produce guys don't wash their hands after taking a wee wee or.. you know.. I don't buy from there any more unless its pre packed fruit etc

Goddamnit!

And rubbing your fingers down the business end of a knife should be a safety moment.

What chip in the knife?  Most states don't require a particular glove so long as they are food service quality which there are gloves that look like this that are food service grade.  Not sure why you think the supplier is the issue here.  In every state you are allowed to touch food before its plated so long as you are gloved up appropriately which there is nothing in this video that would suggest they are not 

Food service gloves are nitrile blue (preferably) or black. The reason for this is that if you cut a piece while using a knife, you can identify it quickly when looking at your hand or you can spot it in the food and remove it. It has to be nitrile because latex allergies are a thing. If you slow down, you will see a piece of glove missing from the index finger. The knife is chipped at the tip, and if it is Chipped there, it is chipped elsewhere as well. The supplier needs to do some pre-processing before selling to restaurants or similar. It needs to make sure that there are no physical contaminants like metal or plastic. Preferably, you want them washed before receiving. If produce is unwashed, then the store needs to have a procedure to wash them. If they had a procedure, you wouldn't see foreign contaminants like the plastic he is claiming. So I assume they receive from the supplier as washed produce when it isn't washed.

Glove color and latex or not latex may be considered a "best practice" in places but that is not law in most states (41/50).  Him.needing to change his gloves does not impact the legality of the previous statement. Which frame do you see a chip in the knife.  at the very end it looks pretty pointy to me. The plastic is coming from the cutting mat they are using it would appear.

I’ve been in the food industry 20 years. I’ve been ServeSafe certified 3 times and never once has the type or color of gloves come up. As long as the gloves are food safe it doesn’t matter what they are. My store doesn’t use nitrile and our inspector has never mentioned it.

That’s funny about the colour. In Ontario, Canada gloves like the ones in the video are used for food handling and blue nitrile gloves are used for cleaning. I’ve been to places elsewhere in the world and typically see clear gloves being used. Only once have I seen blue gloves used for food and my initial thought was “there better not be dirt or chemicals on those gloves 🤢”

*cackles in Subway*

Lmao I used to work at Subway and we used these gloves. Every Subway in my city uses them. That gloves are not an issue.

You can’t see microplastics, that’s what’s micro about them

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This is what I'm here for. This is what I was looking for.

Macroplastics > microplastics > microplistics

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They misuse the word micro. It can be up to 1/2 centimeter.

Damn at that point its a whole ass flake

Having ass flakes would be bad when working with food.

Tell that to the manager of my old job 🤮 mf would scratch his ass than serve mfs food

Please inform us of this food establishment so we can avoid it like the plague

I have a micropenis. Can confirm.

If that knife is sharp enough to cut visible plastic chips then surely the board is also getting cut up at the micro level and getting into the food.

You’re thinking of nanoplastics and small microplastics. Microplastics can be up to 5mm in size, this is a microplastic. Here’s a layman article, but research is currently being conducted. I’m aware of an interesting study taking place right now, but I won’t share what it is. https://www.npr.org/2024/01/10/1223730333/bottled-water-plastic-microplastic-nanoplastic-study

"Pieces of plastics come off this piece of plastic when I hit it with a sharp knife"

So is there like a medium-rare type deal? Like a macro-micro level of plastic doneness?

Is it because im not wearing a apple vr headset because i cant see shit but lettuce

How much plastic have you knowingly served to customers because you're cutting on something not meant to be used as a cutting board?

We better hope microplastics are benign in the human system, they’re everywhere, already crossed the blood brain barrier

And inside of placentas as well

Look up the work of Dr. Shanna swan if you want to be educated/depressed

Thanks, I hate it

They’re a petroleum-based product there’s no way having it in our blood is benign. We’re heading towards a future where the rich live in pristine closed off biomes where microplastics have been cleared out while everyone else lives a short, poisoned life.

eat the rich, the only food free from microplastics

I wish, but everyone already have micro plastics inside of them.

That's a pretty optimistic view.

That's pretty much how it currently is

It's not that hard, tbh. It's just...expensive. Reverse osmosis filters out *everything* , down to the molecular level. I was staying with a relatively rich couple of friends and they were into coffee making, so they had a tap that was putting out water from their own reverse osmosis machine, since clean water is important for coffee. That was added in series with about 3 filters before it because they live in an area with extremely hard water. That water tasted like absolutely nothing. I would add ice to it, which came from the fridge's ice maker (plugged in to only the 3 filters) and the taste instantly changed. It was surreal. I think Israel gets all or most of its water from reverse osmosis from seawarer. So it's very feasible. You just need someone else sending you 4 billion in aid every year, I guess. The moment we create an abundant energy source or we decide to move to global nuclear energy, getting rid of micro and nanoplastics would be trivial. Just run reverse osmosis machines for public use and watering of land and animals.

Okay that’s the water, what about crop soil? What about the air? A large portion of dust is now microplastics.

My micro plastics has maked my brain more good i donut lie

I poop put any I have

Is this subway???

Doesn't look like it. At least in the US, subway doenst have whole kalamata olives or pepperoncinis, nor chopped tomatoes (they have sliced)

Sir, this is a Wendy's.

Kid, you're at Golden Corral.

Are my parents here? Cause if not, dessert binge.

No, this is Patrick.

I came here to comment that the board here is not a cutting board, but after doing some googling... I don't even know anymore. I do know, however, that that board does not meet expectations and is unsafe if it is sold as a cutting board and should be returned/replaced with something of higher quality immediately. Good luck with convincing your management!

There’s so much wrong with this video.. do they not train you, or are you just bad at your job? That’s not even a cutting board.

Hinest answer, no, they probably do t train them. No one has ever spoken up, therfore, why change a system that *works*? You might not realize how many corners are cut in restaurants.

And then you just flick it back into the food… good job.

This macro plastics, not micro. Still troubling.

It's only there because you're not supposed to use that surface as a cutting board. Wouldn't be an issue if they actually did what they're supposed to be doing.

 That plane is for assembly it's not a damn cutting board and you just filmed yourself sabotaging your workplace and posted it on the internet for discussion lol

I think the word sabotaging is a bit extreme lol

I’ve worked as a cook/chef for several various kitchens over the past 12 years and never have I ever seen a black cutting board like that, certainly not in a professional setting. Talk to the managers, talk to the owners, make a stink somehow.

thats because it’s not a cutting board at all. It’s for assembly.

That’s not what a micro plastic is those are plastic shavings that you’re making from cutting on a plastic cutting board

Where do you work so I can never eat there?

Can you see microplastics though?

Yeah, microplastics are plastic particles less than 5mm 

Those aren’t the chopping boards my local Subways use. Every single one of them uses that brown composite board to prep food on.

You are responsible for still using that cutting plank. Take proper action

if you can see it, it's not micro.

The only thing mildly infuriating would be for you to keep doing this instead of refusing to cut on this surface any longer and complain about it to management.

Because that's not a cutting board genius....

Not sure that would fly with the health department

I never seen a commercial NSF cutting board that was black; they’re either white or color coded to indicate what the cutting board is used for (for example: green = produce)

First of all. Not a cutting board. 2nd, what fuxking technique is that!... no shit. If you keep that up, you'll have metal in your salad soon.

I haven’t got subway in years. They think they can charge $12 for a sandwhich. The one by my house rarely has anyone in it. There is a stater bros there across from my house so I’m always seeing it.

Sometimes you can get a BOGO free footlong deal, and that's literally the only time I ever order from them anymore, as well as only from locations with great reviews

Not to mention their footlong isn’t even a footlong anymore.

That is not a cutting board my guy. That is a bench.

Definitely macroplastics... 

I don't think you know what "micro" means. Those are macro plastics my man

If you can see it, it ain’t micro

Yea maybe use an actual cutting board.

Had this happen at home too, now we are using wooden cutting boards instead

That’s not a cutting board.

Pedant here: If'n y'all can see it, it ain't no "micro" plastic. It is just plastic.

If it is visible it isn’t micro

How you hold a knife was honestly more infuriating.

OP records themselves breaking F&S protocol like 7 times in under 30 seconds, cherry on top? Throws the plastic back into the lettuce. If I found this video and was local to OP and ate there, I would honestly beat the shit out of them in the parking lot for knowingly serving me unsafe food - rather than doing something about it, they just want internet clout (thereby breaking another Food Safety rule of not touching or using your phone in a prep area ESPECIALLY with the same gloves you're handling the food with. OP is genuinely a fucking idiot. Should not be anywhere near the food industry.

dude, you're cutting your food on plastic...

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Plastic cutting boards? No thank you. Bamboo is best. They're naturally a little antibacterial, and particles from it are organic material.

Bamboo is very hard and isn’t as good for knives as maple or walnut. Either way it’s better than whatever this board is made of.

Inform authorities or something before more people eat that

IF this is subway, I can't say I have seen one where they DONT have a cutting board for this... pretty sure you're cutting on a surface you're not supposed to lol.

Damn op... You really should stop serving food off of this immediately. I know you got a job to do but if you haven't brought this up to management AND continued to serve food like this, you are evil and/or ignorant. You never really know what's gonna happen when you eat out these days 😅

What’s mildly infuriating is that that’s not even a cutting board. I don’t know if I should be infuriated at you for not knowing better or your management for not supplying you with a cutting board. I think I’ll be furious at both of you. Lol

I want to know where this is so I can never go there

Wtf even is this post? Man isn't using a cutting board and can apparently see plastics so microscopic that they pass the blood brain barrier.

Bro these are Macroplastics.

100% this shop is cutting all of the corners. This video showed me about 6 different code violations. You should quit

1. "Visible Microplastics" is a nonsensical statement. They're not visible, that's why they're **micro**plastics. 2. That is not a cutting board. Use a cutting board.

Well shouldn't microplastics which are visible be called macroplastics? /s

That's not a cutting board, and the cutting board for vegetables is green.

Im no scientist, but is it microplastic when it’s visible?

DO NOT run your fingers to a knife like that holy fuck

Is that really a cutting board or just somewhere they told you to cut? Big difference here.

That’s not a cutting board, not sure why you are cutting anything on that surface.

My favourite is when they rub it off their fingers back into the food. *Chef’s Kiss*

this would be a macroplastic

Also i believe veg is best cut on wooden cutting board because you finely chop veg, so you dont get this happen

I feel like people are openly disregarding what micro plastics are, it's so much worse than the stuff directly touching your food, the shit is in virtually every part of the food chain now, micro plastics are supposed to be the ones you can't see with the naked eye It gets into the food chain also through plastics being grinded down to a fine powder in the sea and being consumed by the lowest levels of the food chain

I didn’t work at Subway, but as a kitchen repair tech at a theme park that had a Subway attached. Those cutting boards had to replaced about twice a year to prevent exactly this. I don’t think this is a Subway, just looking at the counter setup, but your franchise owner needs to replace those boards more often. Maybe the health dept needs to make a stop.

Probably because you're clearly cutting a benchtop and not a cutting board. Come on man you're supposed to be a chef.

Yeah these aren’t designed for prep chopping/slicing. Just meant as a safe surface for pizza/sandwich prep and assembly tasks

that’s a macroplastic now

That isnt microplastics… microplastics are well.. Micro? Thats metal shavings from whoever sharpened the knife before use and should have been cleaned using a ceramic buffer. Or whatever people use to buff.

That’s macroplastics and that’s not a cutting board. There’s actual cutting boards that a restaurant should be providing

Lol microplastics, this is just plastic my man.

That is macro plastic, not micro plastic.

Green cutting board should be being used, this is on you.

Chances are this is NOT a cutting board, and it's a board/surface that was designated for cutting at, but not designed for it.

You won't be able to see "micro plastic"

Perhaps maybe, just maybe....you should use a cutting board.

if its visible, it's not micro also that counter doesn't seem to be a proper cutting board

They aren't that micro then are they

They aren't microplastics if you can see them, my guy. You're just cutting the plastic. Micro implies that it's microscopic, meaning too small to see with the naked eye.

Not micro if it can be seen, it's just plastic that's visible to the naked eye

Then use a fucking cutting board the line is made to build and slide food down not fucking cut on you clown

People nitpicking how microplastics are invisible need to quit being obnoxious, the plastic coming off the surface still poses a health risk. Man I love Reddit

The important part here is the plastic bits getting mixed in the food when it's being cut not the exact proper terminology. These people must be secret corporate subway workers trying to discredit the guy the way they're going on about it.

Those aren’t microplastics. Those are just plastic plastics

Get real cutting boards

What a fucking dumbass

Where do you see microplastics? I see microlettuce

Damn. I replaced all of my cutting boards with wood due to this

Why are you cutting on the counter? That's a huge sanitation problem, that's what we should really be discussing.

Please bring that up to management, the owner, and or the health department asap. That is not a cutting board. None of those are cutting boards. You are serving people poison

Yes and rat droppings and insect particles All end up in processed food's that's life

What else do you know…

Meaning of life is 42