Wheat Flour on Check-Out Conveyor

Another day of having my gluten free gears grinded.

Shop time at Sainsburys, queue for checkout, get to checkout and bloomin conveyor belt is absolutely covered in flour. Totally covered.

Re-queued at another checkout and some residual flour on that.

What is the point in carefully choosing gluten free foods to then get to the checkout and have them covered in gluten, which will then transfer to fridge and cupboards at home.

What are the regulations on this, does anyone know? I usually go to Tesco and this really doesn't seem to be an issue there, even with their own in-house bakery products.

[Hidden]

Hi Mise

Unfortunately there are some situations that are out of anyones control and accidents happen. I am sure they happen in other supermarkets also as it is unavoidable. If they have a spillage of anything at tills it should be cleaned . I am assuming that if it wasn’t then it was either, not long happened and the colleague could not clean mess with the items on the belt or the tills were so busy that they had not been able to.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Hi Angel46, yes I think you're spot on with what you say. Seems though that this was common across all the checkouts, with the first one being particularly bad. Perhaps this store hasn't quite got it's policy in place for cleaning flour spillages. Damn annoying though.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

The people on the tills would not be aware of what is on the floor without someone pointing it out .

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Not the floor - it was the actual checkout conveyor that the shopping is put on for check out.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

I misread your reply.

Then I just reiterate my previous reply and say that there must have been a reason for it not to have been cleaned . I doubt very much that these things do not happen in other supermarkets

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Doesn't make it acceptable though for anyone avoiding gluten or with wheat allergy. There are policies in place for cleaning/hazard risks that are there for a reason.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

I'd also add this is safety for staff as well. Flour gets airborne very easily - if it's circulating around the checkout line on a loop, potential breathing issue for check out worker.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Yes, they are and they are followed ,however maybe not as fast as some people would like.

[Cooper27]

That is frustrating. I think it best to just grab one of the people floating around checkouts and explain the issue. We don't know exactly what type of flour it was, as I've had a bag of GF stuff burst at the checkout myself in the past, but I can understand not wanting to take the risk.

[Hidden in reply to Cooper27]

I just ran everything under the cold tap when I got home/took them out of their packaging before putting in fridge/cupboard. Seemed the safest option.

[Hidden]

This would grind my gears also, Mise. It's difficult to prevent spillage at times in retail (I used to work in retail years ago), but this is not on. Under standard health/safety/hazard risk - the checkout should be closed until the cleaning takes place. It doesn't matter that the check-out assistant is busy - if hazard is spotted, till gets closed and hazard dealt with. Even for anyone who is ok with gluten/wheat - it's just basic cleanliness to ensure the surface is free of dirt/debris. If someone spilled water on the conveyor, the check out assistant would dry it off before the next customer (I've seen this happen), so why not the flour. If you think about when anything is spilled on the floor in the supermarket - they're straight out with the little yellow signs and the mops are out - one slip from a customer, and they're in trouble. Flour generally seems to be badly packaged/stored for leaks and spillage. The normal flour section in my local Tesco is on the same ailse as the baking products and eggs - there is always a film of flour on the packets and in the area. They stock their gluten free cococonut flour alongside the normal wheat flour, and the coconut packet always has a thin layer of wheat flour on it - I've resorted to buying it online.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Pretty much what I thought also. At the end of the day, the checkout assistant doesn't have to clean down any major spills - that's cleaning employees who look after major spills, etc. They can also switch to alternative till beside if there are issues (i assume?). I think what this is, is more of the same with regard the zero training/poor training in hospitality and retail with regards allergens in general. I always wonder how people at risk from anaphylaxis from nuts or similar manage to navigate life - they must be on high alert at all times.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

I work at a checkout and we are responsible for cleaning our belts, if there is a spill which we can clean ourselves then we do it . We do not leave a pile of anything longer than our ability allows. It is easy to criticise and easy to put procedures on paper, however it isn’t always black and white. Maybe it had just happened and the customer whose flour it was is the customer whose shopping is on the belt , the checkout person would finish dealing with that customer before clearing up. There has to be a bit of responsibility for looking after your own interest in this situation. If I went to a check out and there was flour, I ,like Mise,would move to another till, no hardship. If that one had, then I would go to another. Bags of flour are the worst culprit for spillage because of the paper bags they are packaged in.

[cathie in reply to Hidden]

It’s not an easy job. The supermarket we used before lockdown had this lovely Swedish man who would chat a lot on his checkout. Several times I’ve had people huffing behind us because they thought he was slow. Impatience could explain spillages not being cleared if things are busy.

[Hidden in reply to cathie]

The store was quiet.

[cathie in reply to Hidden]

Ok they’ve no excuse!!

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

I did detect hostility in your previous comments, so detailing you work on a check out is helpful for explaining that.

You state "There has to be a bit of responsibility for looking after your own interest in this situation". That is not what Sainsburys detailed to me when I contacted them about this matter, and the situation did, in their words, seem at odds with their policy. I took all the responsibility that I could, including moving to a new till, and running all the products under the tap when I got home, before putting them in fridge and cupboard.

The issue which I flagged in moving to the other till (only 3 tills open) was that it also had flour on it also. Not as much as the previous till, but still there. The store was quiet, and it was not a busy time (Friday morning before 9:00am).

I think the previous comments on here about using the self-service check out is the safest option in that particular store, but there tends to be a product limit on that, so a weekly shop trolley may not make it past the product requirement for this.

[Mitch55]

For safety, maybe put your GF items into a basket and explain your need to keep them off the conveyor...You lift, they scan, you pack. Or you may find the self service, where you put everything straight from the trolley to your bag, the best option. I have similar concerns with our home’s mixed shop so I’m vigilant to it.

[Hidden in reply to Mitch55]

It was a weekly shop with a trolley, but the basket option makes sense. Self-check out is good option, and I normally opt for that with a basket, but it tends to have an item limit, so not the best if you have a trolley full.

[Ukulelelady1]

It’s hard to keep everything within our control, the best you can do in these circumstances is make sure you wipe all your shopping down when you get home. A lot of us are doing that at the moment anyway due to Covid 19. You could also speak to the store manager and explain your findings so that they can perhaps make it policy to clean the conveyor belt as soon as something like that happens.

[Hidden in reply to Ukulelelady1]

Thanks. I contacted Sainsburys about the issue.

[Echoblue]

Many supermarkets offer self scan or even scan as you go shopping now. This vastly minimises the touch points.

[MTCee]

Maybe if it happens again, just say you’ve got a dreadful wheat allergy and could the till be cleaned? It’s not the exact reason but it could help focus the staff on the problem. The general public seem to appreciate allergies more than gluten intolerance.

[Hidden in reply to MTCee]

Coeliac, as an autoimmune condition (rather than an intolerance) does seem to be misunderstood if it's not an allergy, so yes, that makes sense to deliver the message in a way it may be understood.