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Buffet ResearchBy Stephanie at SPLHSIn buffets, it is very tempting to choose non-healthy foods because of the vast amount of greasy food to choose from. In most cases, buffets are “all you can eat” restaurants. This factor also makes people want to eat more while dining in. Before you begin eating at a buffet-style restaurant, you must look at the health and safety hazards of what the food looks like, how it’s prepared, and how it is set out for consumption. First you should look to see if the food has a protective cover or more commonly known as a “sneeze guard”. This “sneeze guard” is usually placed at a buffet-style restaurant to protect the food from being infected by the many customers. It can be infected in many ways such as: sneezing, coughing, or talking and inadvertently spitting on the food. This guard can be in the form of a plastic or metal lid. It can also be in the form of a plastic see-through plate angled above the food. Another thing you should keep your eye on is the tongs or utensils used to put the food on the plate. These tongs are used to keep people from using their bare hands to touch the food. Without these tongs or utensils, the food would not be healthy or safe to eat. Many other elements come together so that the food is safe to eat and also healthy and clean for customers as well. Take plates for example, customers must use a new plate every time they come back to the buffet line. This is to ensure that there are no germs being spread among the buffet itself. Some other things to be considered is the particulars of what the employees are supposed to do. The employees must be very watchful of the temperatures, they must be keeping a close watch of the buffet, and also restocking the food when it begins to get low (Health & Safety Codes). Safety is one of the important things that need to be considered but also it is very important to choose healthy foods. At a buffet, it is usually difficult to discern which foods are really considered healthy. Most things at a buffet are fried, greasy, and definitely unhealthy. Along with all the grease, buffets are also packed with saturated fats, bunches of sugar, and don’t forget sodium. Striving towards eating healthy at a buffet is definitely worth it in the long run. Although this may be a tough challenge for some people to do, in the end, it will save their body and their health. LIVESTRONG suggests upon certain steps to take when approaching the task of picking healthy foods at a buffet style restaurant. An obvious thing to do when eating at a buffet restaurant is to pick foods that are nutritious. When making these choices on nutritious foods you should also take into account that the amount of calories in a meal is also very important along with the nutritional value of it. Try to stay within a reasonable amount of food while also choosing foods that are non-fat, have nutritional value, and lessen the amount of extra toppings and unnecessary things from your plate. One thing that definitely needs to be addressed is managing the amount each type of food you get. There should be around the same amount of each different food group. Make sure to start and get plenty of vegetables then build on with some meats and so forth (Eating Healthy at a Buffet). Works CitedDoom, Michael. “Health & Safety Code Requirements of a Salad Bar Or Buffet and How to Prevent a Food Poisoning”. Ezine Articles. 11 Aug 2008. Web. 12 Dec 2012.Schuna, Carly. “How To Eat Healthy At A Buffet”. LIVESTRONG. 14 Jun 2011. Web. 12 Dec 2012. Supplemental Links:http://ezinearticles.com/?Health-and-Safety-Code-Requirements-of-a-Salad-Bar-Or-Buffet-and-How-to-Prevent-a-Food-Poisoning&id=1402314http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/07/buffets-and-cross-contamination/ http://clark.wsu.edu/family/General-food-safety/FoodSafetyAndBuffetEtiquette.pdf http://www.streetdirectory.com/food_editorials/meals/restaurant_guide/history_of_buffets_and_infusions_restaurant.html http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/buffet-bellyaches http://www.livestrong.com/article/70082-foods-eat-chinese-buffet/ http://www.livestrong.com/article/249661-how-to-eat-healthy-at-a-buffet/ http://mydietbuddy.com/healthy-foods.htm Return to articles menu |