When I was fifteen I got my first job taking care of the buffet line at a seafood restaurant in Biloxi, Mississippi, at lunch time and then being the cashier in the gift shop in the afternoon.  It was a pretty fun job and of course the food was excellent and it was a perk that all employees were able to eat for free. When working that job I was not given formal training on how to prevent contamination from customers to the food displayed on the buffet; I was basically told keep the pans of food changed out and fresh and wipe and clean up the crumbs that customers may leave behind.  It was not until I became a restaurant manager and a food safety inspector did I understand the risk customers pose to displayed food on a buffet.

If you have ever visited a restaurant that offers a buffet you notice that the buffet is equipped with sneeze guards; now the FDA Food Code refers to them as food guards.  Those food guards are to protect the food from coughs, sneezes, sputum, and droplets from entering the food.  The Food Code requires that the food guards be at a height to effectively protect the food from those potentially dangerous germs.  The question that I would ask you; are the food guards truly effective in protecting food?  In short I would say ‘no.’ First many of us are at different heights, me personally I am about 5 ‘10’ which is not considered short by any means.  Think about children that visit the buffet, they are normally short and their faces are below the protective food guards.  It is very difficult for a restaurant to select a food guard that will meet the needs of every customer that walks through the door; because of that fact restaurants normally try and select food guards for the average height on an individual.  But we all know the average height for men and women are different.

So what do you as the customer and owner do to make sure the food is safe to eat?  First let’s address the restaurant owner; owners should have signage that speaks to parents or adults accompanying children to the buffet line.  We all know that children are curious and they have no hesitation picking up food with their hands opposed to using a utensil. The accompanying adult should be vigilant in monitoring to ensure that ‘little’ hands stay where they are supposed to be. Second have an identified employee monitor the buffet for food that has been touched by bare hands; sneezed on; food from plates put back into the pan-- the contaminated food should be removed immediately.  The buffet monitor should replace serving utensils with clean utensils and clean-up crumbs and spills with a clean wiping cloth frequently.  And finally make sure that the person that is monitoring the bar requires EVERYONE to use a CLEAN plate!  When customers use a plate they have just eaten off-of to get additional food they can easily contaminate the serving utensil that everyone is using to get their food.

Now addressing the customer your first step should be to WASH YOUR HANDS before you go and serve yourself.  Have you ever thought about how many germs are on every door knob before your enter a restaurant and are seated, pretty nasty if you think about it.  If every person who ate at the buffet did not wash their hands, imagine the amount of germs that your hands now have on it and you are about to pick-up that fresh piece of fried chicken---hmmmmn makes you think. In short it is always a good practice to wash your hands before and after you eat a meal.  Second if you have to cough and or sneeze step far away from the buffet; did you know statistically one sneeze can produce over 40,000 droplets?  And of course it goes without saying, go and wash your hands before proceeding back to the buffet.  Third if you have young children with you please accompany them to the buffet to ensure they are not unintentionally putting other patrons and risk. Finally use a clean plate every time you revisit the buffet, it only takes a second to get a new plate.

If you read my recommendations you will notice they are the same for the owner and the customer, but it takes both working in harmony to keep everyone safe.  I know you are probably asking yourselves does she eat at buffets, and my answer is on RARE occasions.  The reason that I do not frequent buffets is not so much the risk of contaminated or adulterated food, but I prefer food that is cooked to my individual palate and not to the general public.  If you notice many foods on buffets often lack flavor and are over-cooked. 

I hope that you have enjoyed this blog and as usual feel free to ask me any food safety questions or contact me for private or group food service training or consulting.  Happy eating!!!!!