Years ago, I served food samples at local grocery stores.

I don't usually but not necessarily for the reason you mention.I'm usually in a hurry to get in and get out of the store and just don't bother with it.

No, I don't take samples--or mints at diners--or eat at buffets or salad bars. I've heard those news reports, too, and seen people do some terrible things at those public troughs. Just not worth it to me.

I always sample....particularly at Costco. It always tastes good in the store but more often than not when I get it home I wonder what I was thinking. Not that great. I must have just been hungry, which is why they say you should never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach.

Sure. I sample. I eat at buffets and salad bars. I share desserts. I drop a candy and I pick it up and eat it. Heck, I grew up with DDT. I'm still alive.

Me too LindaKathy and honestly I'm never sick! Seems that people that try to avoid every germ and bacteria are the ones that get sick all the time. Go figure!

Oh the other hand, I realize that some people have immune systems that are compromised, and they DO need to be as careful as they can be.

rarely, only if I'm starving. I do eat at salad bars, though.

Sure I do. Not often, because the food that Costco, say, has out is usually stuff I wouldn't eat anyway (but I did taste a wonderful banana cream cheesecake last year before the holidays!)

Everything has bacteria. Sealed bags of many things do, too--remember that people died eating something (spinach) that was "sealed for their protection"?

Probably not. DH won't touch the mints at restaurants once I told him what is on them.

I'm wondering, for those of you who don't take samples, do you eat in restaurants? I'll bet the kitchens are no cleaner than the sample table in the grocery store.

I don't usually take samples because the food they want me to try is something I would either never buy, or have already bought so I already know what it tastes like.

"DH won't touch the mints at restaurants once I told him what is on them."
OK, I give. What IS on them?

Yes - I eat samples, eat at salad bars and eat at restaurants. There is far more bacteria at a restaurant than there is at a sample station. And there is far more bacteria on doorknobs, handrails and shopping carts than there is in restaurants.

Kind of depends on what the food is. No, I'm not going to eat something 100's of people have had there hands in. But, if it's plated by a person in gloves and the food is generally something you can't get sick from, I'll often give it a try.

I feel better about a real sample with a server who appears to take precautions. I wouldn't really consider mints a sample. I stay away from those, and usually open samples that numerous strangers could easily touch with their unwashed bathroom hands.

I also do samples, it is a nice way to try new food. I love buffets and will try anything including guinea pig. One of the bonuses of my travel is to try exotic foods. I don't buy bagged lettuce and other veggies. I can't remember the last time I was sick with anything.

I do eat at buffets but not at this time of the year. It seems like everyone I know is sick right now and I'm trying to be careful. Actually, this time of the year I try not to eat out at all. I know I can still get sick and probably will. I have a cold right now so by not eating at these places, I'm not giving out my germs either. It seems like since I started this about 5 years ago, I haven't been sick on Christmas since. I used to be sick on Christmas every year. Once Christmas is done, I'll be eating at these places again. Oh wait, no I won't. I'll be on my annual diet until the end of January. But come February, I'll be there again.

Yes, I sample, in fact, I go through more than once and lunch on samples sometimes.

So far, never bothered me. :)

Moni

It depends on what it is. I will sample something handed out by a person in gloves if I get my own napkin, spoon, etc. If it involves me touching a cart and then touching my food then no. I get the majority of colds from my kids.

Do you ever think about germs when you take communion at church and the bread is dipped in the cup of grape juice? I just happen to always sit in the front with my friends and am usually the first or one of the first to dip my bread in the cup but as I watch others go through the line, I wonder how many dip their bread too far in the cup and their fingers are in the grape juice.

I always sample at CostCo~~~they follow the Serve Safe guidelines~~~I sample nothing that is on plate that others or kids could have touched~~I do eat at salad bars and buffets but very seldom it just icks me out:(

I very seldom have samples as I very seldom see them passing them out when I shop. I do eat at buffets and salad bars.

Sue

Samples? Seldom. They're usually not of interest to me plus so many people must be starving to death they way they flock to those stands.

Mints??? Of course! Why on earth *wouldn't* I? LOL If the germs get through those Andes wrapped candies or the twist-wrapped peppermint stars they'll get through any other wrapping! LOL

Buffets? Depends on the buffet. I do have a couple that do a very good job of sanitation, the food turnover is good and I tend to watch it. If people are messing with it, I don't touch it and I'll either say something to them or to the staff.

I'm careful about certain types of cleanliness but I'm far from a germophobe. I know that money is filthy. If they handle money and my food, I'm not happy. I know grocery carts are filthy. I know telephones are filthy, as are computer keyboards, car keys and more. It's funny how people will get upset over one or two little things but not give a second thought to others that are far worse. People can be quirky... and funny.

I went to take an interesting sample of cold cut ham and cheese on a toothpick from the little lady at Publix, but when she coughed (she DID turn her head away at least) I lost my desire for the sample.

I don't, usually. It annoys the heck out of me when I see flocks of cars in the parking lot and people on their lunch break head into the local Sam's for a free lunch of tidbits, they cluster around the servers and make it hard for actual shoppers to shop. Geez, how cheap can a person get? It actually got so bad at our Sam's that they stopped doing the sample's around lunch time, they were getting so abused. We used to see 4-8 people cooking up or serving samples and now there will be maybe 1 or 2.

I totally avoid them in WalMart because they are pushier there and work harder to sell whatever it is they're handing out. It's almost always a frozen food item or a cleaning item and they want to give you a coupon AND a big container of the overpriced product. Um, I don't use the cleaning products I already have! lol

My store mostly has a lady giving out samples of a frozen pizza. It always smells so good when it is baking. I always try it, as it is a good way to new brands to see if I like them or not.

I always wipe my cart handle down, and in the colder months I keep my mittens on in the store, and take one off to sample. Door handles and cart handles are discusting, right along with the child seat in the cart.
I will go to a buffet, but only when they are busy and turn over of food is frequent.
I must be doing something right, it's been many years since I have had a cold. I do keep some Airborne on hand, and use it at the first sign of even a sniffle, or when I may have been exposed.

No, I don't take samples--or mints at diners--or eat at buffets or salad bars. I've heard those news reports, too, and seen people do some terrible things at those public troughs. Just not worth it to me.

cynic,
I can't speak for everyone, but I was referring to butter mints and the like when I mentioned mints. Those aren't in wrappers and just sit out in a bowl either by themselves or with a little spoon. I assumed those are the kind of mints the news reports were done on too (but someone correct me if I'm wrong).

I know some places have the wrapped peppermint stars... and I'll take those... Heck, I'll take any free wrapped piece of candy!

Funny you should mention this....I've done this twice in my life...all within the last month. I sampled melons at the grocery store.

Of course I do!! Tho not as many as DH, I count carbs. And no, I do not take unwrapped mints when leaving a restaurant, but wrapped ones are fair game!

Yes - not a lot though just because the stuff often doesn't appeal to me. I'm not paranoid about microorganisms - don't go out of my way to avoid them - and I'm never sick. The one thing I do along these lines is follow good hand washing practice.

I'm pretty brave about taking food samples. I figure my immune system has served me well. Once, though,I remember trying a piece of sausage from a woman who was sneezing. Wouldn't you know, I came down with a cold several days later.

No, I don't do samples. I can't remember seeing anything offered that was of interest to me. Most everything is processed, greasy, salty, or sugary, and things I probably would 'never' buy.

I try samples only if it's something I really want to see how it tastes. Once I started on chemo I was told to avoid buffets. So I don't eat from them anymore.

I try samples, but only something I haven't tried before. A cracker with a piece of cheese on top wouldn't interest me but I do love those bite-sized canape thingies they have at Sam's. I blame my weight gain on a sample of eclairs that were so good I had to buy a box of them. (And several after that.)

We were at Sam's last week and I sampled the best rum cake I'd ever eaten. It comes in something like 20 different flavors. I tested about 5 of them and ended up buying the original and a coconut rum cake (made with coconut rum). They're made by Depree and they don't chintz on the rum. I bought them to serve for Christmas dessert with a little whipped cream on top. Wish I'd bought the chocolate chamborg (raspberry). It was darned good, too.

I really don't like buffets but we do eat at them. It's not so much I'm afraid of germs as the quality of the food if it's been on the steam table too long. Heck, if I want germs they say a woman's purse is THE worst!

Not usually. If I wouldn't likely purchase the product there is no reason to taste it, is there? If it is something I have seen and wondered about, I might...MIGHT... sample it.

I don't care about germs per se. But I did get a very bad case of food poisoning from trying a product that contained shrimp in a food warehouse store. Learned my lesson!

Dances.