The Major Buffet Red Flag To Keep An Eye Out For

Buffets were once everywhere, with hoards of people lining up to eat all they wanted for $10 to $20, depending on the location. It seemed like everything was lost for the industry during the pandemic, but not for long. In 2022, buffet chains took in $5.5 billion, a 9% increase from the year before. Today, the buffet era is slowly returning from the trenches and becoming a hotspot for various food options. While this may excite some of you, you may want to go prepared now that food safety is paramount.

When you think about it, free-for-all buffets back in the day didn't have many parameters regarding health practices. Still, nowadays, there should be no excuse for implementing safety measures to ensure everyone can enjoy the food and stay healthy. So before you fill up your first plate, be vigilant, look around, and note how the buffet is set up; you might want to think twice if they don't have sneeze guards to keep customers safe.

When dining out at a restaurant, there's a sense of trust that cooks, chefs, servers, and so on take food safety seriously; the same goes for buffets. While there aren't as many interactions with the staff in this scenario, there is an obvious connection between customers and the spread of germs. Shields are an excellent way to prevent bacteria from spreading in case of a sneezing incident so others don't get sick and spread illness. If you visit a buffet and don't see a guard structure in place, it's probably a good idea to go elsewhere because your health may not be a priority to the establishment.

While it may seem a little dramatic, it makes a difference. Unfortunately, it can't be ensured that people with their hands full of food will be able to cover their mouths in time or that they follow buffet etiquette, so if this happens to you or someone else in line, at least a buffet with a sneeze guard can protect the food being eaten by hundreds of people.