Russian roulette

Sensible definitely, I avoid group nibbles/ buffets when out, Ihave seen far too many people young and old rush from public lavatories without washing hands.

Very sensible

actually yes - I didn't even think about the toilet aspect but at a shopping centre last week when I used the toilet I was quite shocked by the number of people who didn't go near the sinks after using the toilet. I know some people prefer to use hand gel but I am pretty sure that wasn't the case with the majority. Certainly when i left there was more than one who walked out and that was it

Article in the telegraph today talking about this at airports and those trays you use to go through the checks in. They tested and they were full of bacteria. The toilets on the other hand were cleaner.
You were right to avoid.
My husband who always washes his hands after using toilets is shocked at how few men do so. I think women generally do wash hands, but children and men.....

I remember being warned off taking from bowls of peanuts on a pub bar as a bloke had just taken some after he’d come from the loo. Most men apparently aren’t too fussy about washing their hands.

Having had to suffer hours of constant vomiting, a desperate drive to the emergency doctor and an injection in the rump all as a result of a buffet, I'd say resist it and stay safe!

More places are providing spoons or scoops for communal peanuts etc bowls after a sampling report showed high level of contamination! I have never had concerns with buffets as they all have spoons/servers/tongs etc!

I went to a craft fair today as well! But I don't recall seeing any nibbles anywhere, so it probably wasn't the same one ☺️
I think you were very wise to resist them - the thought of all those unwashed fingers rummaging through them, yuk ??

It depends where it is PECS, for me it was a neighbour's devilled eggs wot did for me! I'm sure organised 'do's' are much safer than homegrown ones, but public feedstations must be the worst of all.

bedevilled eggs Millie

We have a local shop which has bowls of different olive mixes to sample: I have never sampled since seeing a little boy do a very snotty sneeze over the whole lot!

Very good PECS

I was in a hospital OPD last week and cakes were on display and none was protected so anybody could cough and sneeze so I stayed well clear. The famous charity should have known better as should the hospital.

You did the correct thing.

I avoid instore bakery counters (the sections where you help yourself) for exactly the same reasons.

I would have nibbled. But then I have a good, strong immune system - and am a firm believer in it needing the odd challenge to grow stronger!

Oh for heavens sake! Germs and bacteria are part of life. It is impossible to eradicate every one. Be sensible, that is all it needs. Otherwise you will not maintain a good immune system.

Friend of mine was waiting by the fresh roll section of the local supermarket. She observed so many people touching and rejecting various items that she hasn't touched any since. They do have tongs but obvioulsy they are not the same as ones mucky fingers! I perosnally think you were right, better to be safe than sorry.

Joyjoy, I think the same way as you. But on another thread a lady has posted about whether we are over the top these days with our germ prevention. If we think back to our younger days, how many of us ate crisps and nuts from dishes on bars and tables in pubs? The thought of how unhygienic it was never crossed our minds. And we didn't come to any harm.

In a Homebase store on Friday afternoon there was a table laid out with lots of cakes in aid of Macmillan nurses, only one plate had a cover. They hadn’t sold many unfortunately and we weren’t too surprised!

My days of meeting friends for a drink where we would sit at the bar helping ourselves to the dishes of snacks placed on the bar are long gone. I now shudder to think how many fingers to mouth had gone into these snacks .?

just been on a cruise. sinks to wash your hands an gel dispenser by every food by every food service. They also asked that if you used the public toilets you washed your hands and ran water over them for 30 seconds and used a paper towel to open and close the doors before putting it in the bin provided. made sense to me with so many people around.

We do need some germs to keep us healthy, but I don't have bar snacks (fifteen different kinds of urine found on nuts) and don't really like buffets as many pick things up with their fingers - and sometimes put them back when they have examined the contents of the sandwiches. Life is grubby and germy - we have to survive it, but I try to avoid what I have seen in the way of potential colds. Sitting in a restaurant recently I saw a man outside sneeze lavishly into his hands, rub them together, and then open the door to come in. I shouldered my way out.

Rosina I agree with your comment, we do have to be sensible.

It isn't just bar snacks.
When we were eating in the restaurant of a lovely hotel which had a marvellous buffet display we saw a man lick his fingers before handling food he put back.
I have never eaten food from a hotel buffet since.
On the other hand many of us do buffets when friends and family visit....................