Originally Posted by
Fredd
I could write the same about the cretins in hotel lounges who ignore the tongs or other implements, pick up food in their bare hands, and sometimes even pop it into their mouths.
I observed that most recently in a Hilton Lounge in Germany. The older woman doing it happened to be French - her companion muttered something to her when she caught me glaring at her - but ignorance transcends nationalities and I've seen this disgusting behavior carried out by a variety of customers
way too many times in lounges for me to think it's a rare occurrence.
I've also seen it at restaurant buffets and it offends me just as much.
I must disagree with you. If a person is careful to touch only the piece of food they are consuming, I think that using your hands is far more sanitary than everyone touching the same pair of germ-infested tongs.
I would never use my hands to 'scoop' anything up, where I might contact other food. But I find it much easier and more practical to pick up a croissant or pastry with my fingers rather than attempting to crush it between the typical too-small pair of tongs provided at a buffet in order to transfer it to my plate.
If you were really concerned about the cleanliness of the food, the correct thing to do would be to summon a manager and tell them what you saw and how you feel it contaminated the food and ask them to remove or replace it. Alternatively, explain to the woman how she was contaminating the food. What good does glaring malevolently at the woman do?
As far as grocery store samples, I often wonder if the container of toothpicks is dirtier than anything else. It is nearly impossible in some cases to avoid touching other toothpicks when you are trying to pick up your own toothpick.
Maybe BYOB (bring your own bag) is really the way to go!
