# Are Buffets safe? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 12, 2002, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-safe/123535 "2002-08-12T14:47:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-safe/123535/1 "2002-08-12T14:47:21Z")
I ask because although I am not a bacteriologist, the thought of food suitting out for hours scares me! Take something hot, like soup-seems like you have a perfect culture medium for all types of germs. People coughing, sneezing…not to mention the endlessly recirculated air, bathing the food with microbes. Has any scientici study been done regarding the bacteria present in buffet-style foods? I recall seeing a documentary about the food vendors on the streets of NYC-it was enough to turn your stomach. So, will eating at a buffet make you sick? What types of food should NOT be eaten at a buffet-are you safe with vegetables, for example? Paranoid as usual!:eek: ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-safe/123535/2 "2002-08-12T15:03:15Z")
There is such a thing as a Board of Health. They have regulations. Most hot foods are kept at temperatures hot enough to prevent baterial growth (this is a BoH requirement if the restaurant is to stay open). And what makes you think a sit-down restaurant is any safer. Your waiter sneezes in your order, you think they’re going to send it back? Finally, if you want to be paranoid about germs, you might as well live in a bubble. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-safe/123535/3 "2002-08-12T17:09:39Z")
No they are not safe, I saw the waitstaff swapping trays of hot food (old for new) and knocked it off the buffet table and seriously burnt a customer as well as himself. As for the food - I eat at those things all the time but also have an iron stomach. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-safe/123535/4 "2002-08-12T19:16:13Z")
On a recent walk down the Stip here in Las Vegas, I saw no dead bodies or groups of people tossing their cookies on craps tables, so my guess is buffets are safe. If you go into the kitchen of any restaurant, there will be things you see that might make you want to go home and make a sandwich instead of eat there. However, buffets (at least in the hotels/casinos in Las Vegas) are under tight scrutiny by board of health, casino managers and culinary union reps. Buffets here might not all be the tastiest (with the exception of a few of the newer casinos with better selections at pricier buffets), but I have yet to hear of a more serious complaint than over-eating. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-safe/123535/5 "2002-08-12T19:18:07Z")
Ahem…I was walking down the STRIP, not the Stip. ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-safe/123535/6 "2002-08-12T21:22:56Z")
Funny… I spent an exciting night in the ER just recently, getting anti-nausea drugs and some IV fluids to replace everything I’d jettisoned recently. And I’d been living healthily lately, eating lunch at the salad bar… at the hospital cafeteria, where I work. It’s hard to tell where food poisoning comes from, seeing as it has a pretty variable incubation period, but that’s the only real questionable food source I’d had in days. As to less anecdotal evidence… From [the Alaskan Department of Environmental Conservation](http://www.state.ak.us/local/akpages/ENV.CONSERV/deh/sanitat/april/saladbar.htm): > [@](#): > > Recent studies at the University of California watched salad bars to see how sanitary they are. In one study, they found that sixty percent of the customers committed at least one infraction in serving themselves at the salad bar. Some of the things were: > > Spilling food around containers; > > Dipping their fingers into salad dressings for a sample lick; > > Eating from their plates while waiting in the serving line; > > Ducking their heads underneath the sneeze guard (clear plastic roof) for better access to the food (kids especially); and > > Refilling their soiled plates with second helpings. Here’s a link to an outbreak of E. Coli traced back to [watermelon from a salad bar](http://www.msnbc.com/news/554780.asp). [Mississippi State University food scientist Douglas L. Marshall](http://msuinfo.ur.msstate.edu/~dur/nycu/foodborneillness.htm) "recommends caution at events or establishments with ‘salad bars’ and buffet-style selections. " Many more such references are available online, but just finding these has made me feel a bit queasy. Suffice it to say that, yes, buffet-style dining has some inherent risks. As does eating in general. A good rule of thumb to follow is that, if the rest of the restaurant, the bathrooms, tables, etc., do not appear clean, then there’s no reason to trust that the buffet or even the kitchen is spotless. Find a cleaner restaurant. Meantime, I’ve been forced to give up the salad bar here in favor of junk food. Oh, the irony. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-safe/123535/7 "2002-08-12T22:47:59Z")
As reported above, I believe you’re fairly safe eating at buffets. In my own experience, however, buffets are not safe from me. ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-safe/123535/8 "2002-08-13T01:56:24Z")
Are you all MAD??? Of course Buffets are dangerous! Damn, haven’t you all ever seen the food they keep up there? At Old Country Buffet (for example) they screwed up pancakes (how in the hell you can screw up pancakes is beyond me). The lack in the quality of food could theoretically lead to a host of virtually unsafe foods being put up for consumption by uncaring waiters. ---
**Author:** ![im2evil4u](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5ac83/32.png) [@im2evil4u](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/im2evil4u)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-safe/123535/9 "2002-08-13T02:59:35Z")
Safe? No. Are you aware of the amount of oil placed on the items in a buffet? My best pal worked at one for years. Why, check out the “healthy” pasta salad. Did you ever wonder why the pasta doesn’t stick like it does at home? How about those mashed potatoes, so creamy no matter how long they sit? With practically three tablespoons of butter per potato they have no choice but be “creamy.” After first preparation they are practically liquid. Why it is the pancakes don’t stick together? The French toast? The home fries? A clogged artery scares me more than the bacteria. Hell, bacteria are found in 5 star restaurants, in your supermarkets, in your refrigerator. Call your local BOH, get the web address. The rat droppings, roaches and unwashed hands will really freak you out. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-safe/123535/10 "2002-08-13T04:37:47Z")
> [@](#): > > Are Buffets safe? Warren: yes Jimmy: no 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-safe/123535/11 "2002-08-13T06:02:14Z")
Safe is just a relative measurement. Is there any chance you’ll got food poisoning or diseases from eating buffets? You bet. The same goes for any sort of food, however, it’s just that some restaurants are cleaner than others. ---
**Author:** ![Genseric](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Genseric](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genseric)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-safe/123535/12 "2002-08-13T06:10:12Z")
It keeps your immune system in fighting condition. ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-safe/123535/13 "2002-08-13T08:15:07Z")
No, then again nothing is. That’s why we have white blood cells. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-safe/123535/14 "2002-08-13T09:30:46Z")
The Constitutional right to bear a buffet is what keeps the King of England outa our faces! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-safe/123535/15 "2002-08-13T16:14:11Z")
Like all restaraunts, there are rules and regulations in place to protect the health of customers who eat at buffets. If the rules are followed, they’re safe. If they’re not, they’re not. Just like all restaraunts. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-safe/123535/16 "2002-08-13T16:47:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by im2evil4u \* > \*\*Safe? No. Are you aware of the amount of oil placed on the items in a buffet? My best pal worked at one for years. Why, check out the “healthy” pasta salad. Did you ever wonder why the pasta doesn’t stick like it does at home? How about those mashed potatoes, so creamy no matter how long they sit? With practically three tablespoons of butter per potato they have no choice but be “creamy.” After first preparation they are practically liquid. Why it is the pancakes don’t stick together? The French toast? The home fries? A clogged artery scares me more than the bacteria. Hell, bacteria are found in 5 star restaurants, in your supermarkets, in your refrigerator. Call your local BOH, get the web address. The rat droppings, roaches and unwashed hands will really freak you out. \*\* Hey, eat at a fancy restaurant and I guarantee you (as long as it’s classical cuisine a la Escoffier) that you will see equal amounts of butter, cream, fat, lard, and other viscous artery-clogging substances used in amounts that give you a coronary. Order anything with a sauce, and chances are butter is the first and last thing to go in the pan. Hollandaise? Whew! It’s like eating an entire stick of butter. Of course, the portions are much more sensible, but in moderation, it’s okay. Course, buffets aren’t normally meant for moderation, I suppose… ---
**Author:** ![im2evil4u](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5ac83/32.png) [@im2evil4u](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/im2evil4u)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-safe/123535/17 "2002-08-14T23:14:49Z")
Correct sir, but in most buffets (the ones in NYC anyway) there is an inordinate amount of oil on the so called “healthy” salads and other items such as grilled chicken or fish. If I go to a fancy restaurant and order steak au poivre, I’m very aware of the fact that I’m ordering something that isn’t healthly - never mind the rat droppings in the kitchen ---
**Author:** ![Motog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@Motog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motog)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-safe/123535/18 "2002-08-15T04:41:38Z")
My girlfriend at Uni did her degree in biomedical sciences specialising in microbiology. Her thesis topic was on just this subject. She took food samples from a number of buffets and observed the behaviour of people frequenting them. She compared these against foods served a-la-carte. Her conclusions turned me off buffets for ever. Contamination with e-coli, salmonella etc was many times higher in buffet food than a-la-carte food. From her observations she concluded that this was because of how people treated the food at the buffets: She saw people sneezing on food, picking it up by hand, picking food up and taking a bite then putting it back, licking food, putting their leftovers back on the buffet etc. The conditions also contributed: food was often left out for significant periods, unrefrigerated, or (in the case of hot foods) kept at an optimal temperature for bacterial propagation etc. Now while some of these things may happen with food that comes directly from the kitchen, it is unlikely that a-la-carte food has it happen hundreds of times over an hour or so. Sorry haven’t got a cite other than my memory of her thesis (which I proof read). ---
**Author:** ![Motog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@Motog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motog)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-safe/123535/19 "2002-08-15T04:47:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Motog \* > **She took food samples from a number of buffets and observed the behaviour of people frequenting them. She compared these against foods served a-la-carte.** How about we make that sentence: “She took food samples from a number of buffets and observed the behaviour of people frequenting them. She compared the food samples against food served a-la-carte”