Salad Bar In Grocery Store?

[GarAndTeed]

Hi All,

My apologies if this has been discussed (I don't remember seeing it)...does anyone know if salad bars are typically cross-contaminated? I've been getting fruit from the one at my grocery store & something has been stirring things up-- I'm wondering if this may be it?

Thanks for any feedback!

[kareng]

I don't use the salad bar anymore because I worry that tongs used in the croutons yesterday, may be in the carrots today and not cleaned well. I also worry that someone will use the tongs from one itme to another. They could drop a crouton in and pull it out but leave crumbs. The fruit on our local salad bar is next to cake slices and muffins.

[Wolicki]

I got good and sick (gluten reaction) from the salad bar at Whole Foods. No obvious gluten, so it had to be cc.

[ravenwoodglass]

I wouldnt' risk it. I even stopped buying just cut up fruit at one small family run store I go to. I was constantly getting glutened and couldn't figure out how until the day I went into the back room and saw the employee's eating lunch off the cutting board they used for fruits and veggies. Mystery solved.

[jackay]

The bins that they put the salad ingredients in can be contaminated from previously having glutened foods in them. You just can't trust salad bars.

[Juliebove]

We do get some things from the salad bar. I realize there is a risk of cross contamination. We don't get anything that is near our allergens. I always keep things like canned kidney beans at home. I mainly just get lettuce and maybe some tomatoes and add the rest of the toppings at home. With just two of us (3 when my military husband is home), we don't eat a lot of lettuce. Any time I buy it, it seems a lot goes to waste. I quit buying bagged salad after all the food poisoning from it.

[GarAndTeed]

Thanks to all who replied! I figured it wasn't smart to risk the salad bar, and that I was getting nailed by using it... when I went to the store Friday after posting this, I ran into a woman there who has celiac & works in the gluten-free section. She said the same as all of you. She even mentioned that when the gluten-free products were shelved next to non gluten-free items, people complained of getting "glutenized" & requested the gluten-free items be in a completely different area.

This disease teaches me something new (and not always *fun*) almost every day.

Again, many thanks from a reformed salad bar user!!!

[Gemini]

We do get some things from the salad bar. I realize there is a risk of cross contamination. We don't get anything that is near our allergens. I always keep things like canned kidney beans at home. I mainly just get lettuce and maybe some tomatoes and add the rest of the toppings at home. With just two of us (3 when my military husband is home), we don't eat a lot of lettuce. Any time I buy it, it seems a lot goes to waste. I quit buying bagged salad after all the food poisoning from it.

I also eat from salad bars and it's really no different than going out to eat. There are a few golden rules I go by when doing so and it has worked very well for me. I always go when the salad bar is just set up and others have not rifled through it. Once lunch time sets in, it's too late. Whole Foods near to me does a good job of segregating their pasta salads and such from the veggies. The beans have a seperate area also. I make sure the tongs are clean but have never had a time when they weren't. I've been doing this for 5 years and have never gotten sick from a salad bar there. I think it all depends on how you are doing it and where you go.

I also stick to these rules at work, as we have a great salad bar there. I buy my salad at 11:00 and am the first one there. Never had a problem but am known as the salad lady. It's amazing how people watch what you eat every day!