Last December, before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, I wrote about my concern that utensils were not being stored hygienically at eateries (Utensils at eateries not stored hygienically, Dec 28, 2019). We are now in the midst of the pandemic, and this issue has still not been corrected.

Granted, no one is eating in now, but when I bought food from an eatery to take away, I saw that the plastic forks and spoons for customers were stored in the same way - placed upright, tightly packed together, in a container, with the eating surfaces pointing upwards.

Imagine what would happen if an asymptomatic coronavirus carrier were to buy food at one of these eateries. When he takes his utensils, he may contaminate other forks and spoons as there is no way to take one out without touching others. And this contamination would be on the eating surfaces of the utensils.

This is a widespread problem, and I hope the authorities can look into it quickly.

Roger Chua Yeu Hock