Even to my dismay, my wife wanted to go to Charlie Browns. (An okay steak house, which is a chain) Since I don't eat red meat I decided to get unlimited salad bar. The salad bar is usually good, except for I saw someone sneeze on one of the dishes and just walk away :eek: I got one of the waiters and told him, but are people now a days totally uncivilized? Come on cover your freaking mouth; just don't sneeze where ever you want.

You should see what they do to the food in the kitchen!

You should see what they do to the food in the kitchen!
We better don't. What we don't know, doesn't bother us.

But to see someone sneeze on the dishes is just disgusting. I wonder what his parent tought him when he was growing up...

I'm growing more and more leary of the salad bar~think of all those hands that weren't washed after using the bathroom, or were used to pick a nose 10 minutes before, grabbing all the tongs. Then those tongs sit in the food all day, coming in contact with the food you're about to eat.

Common courtesy is dead, folks :td:

I wonder what his parent tought him when he was growing up...


Probably had parents similar to the ones I see that let their brats grab at buffet items with their hands. And we all know that kids can't seem to be able to keep their fingers out of the errant nostril or crevasse.

Probably had parents similar to the ones I see that let their brats grab at buffet items with their hands. And we all know that kids can't seem to be able to keep their fingers out of the errant nostril or crevasse.

Nasty parents = nasty children. It's a vicious cycle.

I used to work at a buffet-type restaurant years ago, and I was officially the salad bar attendant. The mgmt. was really good about making sure we kept everything clean, used gloves, changed serving utensils regularly, kept food fresh, etc., but all that effort was often very easily undone by 1 or 2 people with small children, colds, or both. Bleh. :(

Someone sneezed on every salad bar. But, of course, that's only the beginning ...

Watching people at a salad bar can be pretty disturbing. I love salad bars because they are usually healthy and I can serve myself and pick out what food I want... This is probably too strict for restaurants but it would be awesome if every customer who used the salad bar had to put a mask over their mouth while serving themselves... even using gloves would make it much safer/cleaner. Yes it would feel ackward and different at first but I believe everyone would feel the salad bar area was clean.

Or the installation of sneeze shields would have helped. (those glass extensions that angle downwards over the food)

Sanosuke!

That's just what I was thinking. ^

It amazes me how little people pay attention to personal hygene. Nevermind communal hygene. I can't remember what thread it's in, but someone actually responded something along the lines of 'why bother' when it comes to wasing after using the loo. Where to start?

that reminded of the Subway I went to the other day...

the guy had disposable gloves on(like all Subways do),
however, he sneezed into the sliced meat section...
there were 4 people in line behind me... we all walked out.. :(

went next door to the Taco Bell... of course, who know what goes on in the kitchen over there, or in any other kitchen... :(

that reminded of the Subway I went to the other day...

the guy had disposable gloves on(like all Subways do),
however, he sneezed into the sliced meat section...
there were 4 people in line behind me... we all walked out.. :(

went next door to the Taco Bell... of course, who know what goes on in the kitchen over there, or in any other kitchen... :(

Disposable gloves only serve to keep the employee's hands clean nowadays. Most wear one pair all day and don't even change them when they leave the food prep area. A Health Dept rep once told me they often are worse than bare hands because bare hands can be felt to need at least some washing. It's all a testament to human stamina and to our willingness to blame "the flu".

I wonder if this is why we are seeing a lot less salad bars (at least IMHO) then we did say 10 years ago. I think that communal food sharing (salad bar, buffet :) )is a great idea but when the participants have poor/no hygiene it cannot work.

I tend to avoid almost all of these situations, but I am a sucker for a good breakfast buffet...

I wonder if this is why we are seeing a lot less salad bars (at least IMHO) then we did say 10 years ago. I think that communal food sharing (salad bar, buffet :) )is a great idea but when the participants have poor/no hygiene it cannot work.....except for some reason, Vegas travellers don't seem to mind the communal food sharing. Buffets are a mainstay out there.

....except for some reason, Vegas travellers don't seem to mind the communal food sharing. Buffets are a mainstay out there.
It's a different mindset when in Vegas :rolleyes:

In most cities/counties/states, it is mandated by the health department to have a sneeze guard over any buffet to prevent contamination from sneezing, drooling, and such.

As far as wearing food handler gloves, I have a mixed opinion about this, as it gives a false sense of clean hands. I found one restaurant that posts a sign stating that their corporate standard is to NOT use gloves, but to enforce strict hand washing for their team. I can't tell you how many times I've seen somebody make food and then move the trash can while still wearing the same pair of gloves...then again I see lots of things being in the business.

It's a different mindset when in Vegas :rolleyes:

I wonder if "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" applies to what you catch from eating @ germ-buffets :D

I wonder if "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" applies to what you catch from eating @ germ-buffets :D
Well, if we are talking about sneezing at the buffet, it probably should read "What happens in Vegas STICKS in Vegas!" :rolleyes:

And I think to add to that point, people in general are far more willing to mingle in public while sick. Where 20 years ago people would stay at home. Not a right or wrong, just a trend.

Or the installation of sneeze shields would have helped. (those glass extensions that angle downwards over the food)

Sanosuke!

Actually, I think the real reason for sneeze shields is to give restaurant operators a device to be positioned in such a way as to keep customers from taking as much food as they'd grab if "unimpeded".

"Public Health concerns", of course, are a valid reason for installing them, but I see this as a fringe benefit for the restaurants. Its a little like hoteliers limiting room occupancy to comply with fire codes, etc. True enough...but its also gives them a handy reason/excuse to sell additional rooms.

Anyway, I love salad bars. At least in principle. Doctors, on the other hand, hate 'em. One doctor was quoted in the press a few years back as calling salad bars, "one of the greatest germ exchange venues in the world".

Two words:

Check, please!

Even to my dismay, my wife wanted to go to Charlie Browns. (An okay steak house, which is a chain) Since I don't eat red meat I decided to get unlimited salad bar. The salad bar is usually good, except for I saw someone sneeze on one of the dishes and just walk away :eek: I got one of the waiters and told him, but are people now a days totally uncivilized? Come on cover your freaking mouth; just don't sneeze where ever you want.

This time you were "lucky" enough to see the offending behavior and avoid the consequences. Try not to think about all the times you don't witness the behavior and eat food with a questionable history. Salad bars, buffets, careless fast-food employees, and disgruntled kitchen staff. Some things we are better off not knowing...

And I think to add to that point, people in general are far more willing to mingle in public while sick. Where 20 years ago people would stay at home. Not a right or wrong, just a trend.

True, what do you think is responsible for this? Is it our busy, busy can't be gone from work or disconnected from communications that leads to this. . .

Of when a group of us were at an all-u-can-eat salad (and beer) place in NYC many years ago...and somebody had too much salad (and beer) and dashed toward the bathroom...only to "lose it" on the salad bar...and nobody noticed...

This thread reminds me of a newspaper article I read many years ago (early 90's) which, from memory, said that tests of food at salad bars revealed that most of the food had bacteria normally found in faecal matter, i.e. customers not properly washing their hands after going to the toilet! I've not touched a salad bar since then. I've tried to Google for the article but can't find it.

I saw a kid of about 5 or 6, of course by himself, grab the big spoon from a tray of pudding, put it in his mouth for a nice big bite, then put the spoon back into the pudding. That was it for me..and that was about 6 or 7 years ago!

This thread reminds me of a newspaper article I read many years ago (early 90's) which, from memory, said that tests of food at salad bars revealed that most of the food had bacteria normally found in faecal matter, i.e. customers not properly washing their hands after going to the toilet! I've not touched a salad bar since then. I've tried to Google for the article but can't find it.

Do you mean E. Coli? We all have 'em (including cows). The real problem is not the normal E. Coli that are routinely detected in such tests, it's that there might be some E. Coli in the mix that are O157:H7-the EHEC (enterohemmoragic) class.

This is the strain that caused the Odwalla Apple Juice Outbreak, and the Jack-in-the Box Outbreak

In my case, it's not so much what bacteria it is but the fact that its presence in most salad bars (according to that survey) indicates contamination by customers!

I got one of the waiters and told him, but are people now a days totally uncivilized?

What did the waiter do ? Did he just polish the area with a cloth, or replace any food that was sneezed on ?

Do you mean E. Coli?

I'm assuming they meant Fecal coliform bacteria.

"Total coliform bacteria are a collection of relatively harmless microorganisms that live in large numbers in the intestines of man and warm- and cold-blooded animals. They aid in the digestion of food. A specific subgroup of this collection is the fecal coliform bacteria, the most common member being Escherichia coli. These organisms may be separated from the total coliform group by their ability to grow at elevated temperatures and are associated only with the fecal material of warm-blooded animals.

Environmental Impact:
The presence of fecal coliform bacteria in aquatic environments indicates that the water has been contaminated with the fecal material of man or other animals. At the time this occurred, the source water may have been contaminated by pathogens or disease producing bacteria or viruses which can also exist in fecal material. Some waterborne pathogenic diseases include typhoid fever, viral and bacterial gastroenteritis and hepatitis A. The presence of fecal contamination is an indicator that a potential health risk exists for individuals exposed to this water. Fecal coliform bacteria may occur in ambient water as a result of the overflow of domestic sewage or nonpoint sources of human and animal waste."

I'm assuming they meant Fecal coliform bacteria.

"Total coliform bacteria are a collection of relatively harmless microorganisms that live in large numbers in the intestines of man and warm- and cold-blooded animals. They aid in the digestion of food. A specific subgroup of this collection is the fecal coliform bacteria, the most common member being Escherichia coli. These organisms may be separated from the total coliform group by their ability to grow at elevated temperatures and are associated only with the fecal material of warm-blooded animals.

Most salad bars probably wind up serving a fecal coliform vinaigrette... :rolleyes: