What an EHO did with a pen after touching mouse poo…

EHO Story 📩

A fellow Environmental Health Officer (EHO) told me this story recently and it had me laughing and cringing in equal measure.

They were out on a visit, taking photos for a report. To point out a mouse dropping for the shot, they used a highlighter pen.

Photo taken. And then, completely on autopilot, they stuck the pen in their mouth.

Yep. Same pen.

Mouse poo, then mouth. No thinking. Just habit.

Still alive to tell the tale, but definitely not the proudest moment.

And the thing is, this wasn’t some rookie. This was someone experienced. Someone who knows better.

But when we’re in routine mode (or when we’re under pressure) autopilot can take over.

And if even an EHO can slip into gross habits without realising… what does that tell us about the pressure on chefs, managers, or kitchen teams when an inspector walks in?

Food Safety tip: Even good teams do weird things when they panic 👩‍🍳

✔️ Nerves make people freeze or fumble: If a chef forgets the cooking temps when an EHO asks, maybe it’s not because they don’t know, maybe it’s because they’re feeling the pressure.
✔️ Habits beat handbooks: What people actually do in the moment is shaped by repetition. Learn the correct habits and then repeat them.
✔️ You can train for pressure: Rehearsing inspections with your team can help people get ready and feel prepared. So they don’t default to “chew the pen” mode when it matters.

The Serious Lesson

Food safety slips often come from people who do care, but just stop thinking clearly when the stakes feel high.

So if someone on your team does something odd in front of an inspector, don’t assume it’s laziness, it could just be nerves or maybe bad habits!

💡 That’s why I created the Inspection Ready course, to give teams practical, real-world prep so that when it matters, they don’t freeze, guess, or do something they’ll regret later. Check it out here.