5 Buffet Red Flags You Should Never Ignore

There's something delightfully nostalgic about eating at a buffet. They are safe spaces where you can eat as much as you want, in whatever combinations you want, with zero judgment. (Shrimp cocktail and fried rice with a side of Nutella crepes, anyone?) But unfortunately, not all buffets are created equal.

When done right, buffets are a quick and delicious way to satisfy multiple cravings at once. But, in the wrong hands, buffets can be a hotbed for some gnarly food safety issues. From dried-out pizza and congealed queso dip to sweaty-looking lunch meat, as someone who is a regular at all-inclusive resorts and knows their way around a Vegas buffet, I've seen it all. So, whether you're grabbing a self-serve meal while on vacation or hitting up your local all-you-can-eat KFC buffet, here are some buffet red flags you should never ignore — no matter how hungry you are.

Buffets usually have an enormous variety of food options, from hot and cold options to foods that are served at room temperature. One of the biggest challenges to maintaining a safe buffet environment is keeping everything at the correct temperatures to prevent food from developing harmful bacteria. According to the FDA, hot foods should be kept at an internal temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer, and cold foods should be kept at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder. So, if your scrambled eggs seem suspiciously cold or your sushi is room temperature, this is cause for concern.

If you've ever wondered whether those plastic shields that separate you from the buffet food actually make a difference, the answer is yes. These clear plastic or glass barriers prevent bacteria from saliva and sneezes from contaminating food at a buffet. If there's no sneeze guard it means that there's nothing separating that vat of penne alla vodka from your fellow diner's mouth germs. If a restaurant doesn't have the foresight to install a sneeze guard, it makes you wonder where else they're cutting corners.

While this may not seem like a big deal, using the same serving utensil for different dishes is a health risk. Shared utensils create a risk of cross-contamination, potentially exposing diners to harmful allergens. Serving utensils should also not seem grungy or be placed in areas that come in contact with hand germs. (Crusty queso ladle sitting directly on the countertop, I'm looking at you.) Touched by many, serving utensils are a hotspot for germs, so staff should be switching them out regularly. 

Seafood buffets might not be worth it – even the all-you-can-eat sushi buffet — especially if some of the seafood isn't recognizable. Some restaurants engage in food fraud, switching out one kind of seafood for a similar, lower-cost option (for example, using cheaper rockfish instead of red snapper) and not labeling it as such. So, if the seafood options at a buffet look more like "cousins" of what they're labeled as, you should be concerned.

Last, but not least, be wary of any buffet that isn't well-staffed. While you won't interact with servers as much as at a standard restaurant, there should still be plenty of staff monitoring the flow of food. When staff are spread thin (or non-existent) they may miss a customer breaking the rules by eating in the buffet line or contaminating food in another way. A shortage of staff also signals that they may not be switching out the food or disinfecting surfaces as often as they should. Either way, it's a red flag, and no amount of all-you-can-eat shrimp is worth putting your health at risk.