During all the summer parties, buffets are common – but they can be a real breeding ground for bacteria.
If you are not careful, you can accidentally give someone food poisoning.
– It’s not so funny for the host, says Marie-Louise Danielsson Tham, professor of food hygiene.
A summer buffet does not come without risks. Bacteria thrive both in the heat and among some common dishes. Among other things, mayonnaise-based salads, such as potato salad and shrimp salad, are a feast for the bacteria.
– Ideally, I would like a potato salad made with a sauce of oil and vinegar. And it’s even worse when it’s seafood. Bacteria like shellfish very much and they taste bad very quickly. So get rid of them, alternatively put them in a bath with ice cubes, says Marie-Louise Danielsson Tham.
“Not fun for the host”
Something you should never do is put a spoon you’ve had in your mouth back into the food, especially not in the potato salad, says Marie-Louise Danielsson Tham.
– It’s almost like you spit in your food. And then a lot of bacteria grows in the salad.
In the oral cavity we have both dangerous and harmless bacteria, says Marie-Louise Danielsson Tham. And some of the bacteria in the mouth can be food poisoning bacteria.
– If they get into the potato salad, for example, they can bind a poison that causes you to vomit and get diarrhea already one or two hours after you have eaten it. And then the guest is still at the party and it’s not so fun for the host.
Best buffet food
Marie-Louise Danielsson Tham advises having the roast beef on cooling racks under a fine cloth, like a self-made cooling table.
– You are so careful that the drinks must be cold at a buffet. But how many people think that the cold food should also be cold? It is much tastier and much safer.
Something she recommends on the buffet table are pies and pierogies, food that has been baked in the oven.
– Then almost all dangerous bacteria die and the few that remain do not have time to multiply in a buffet. But everything should be eaten cold, because no one wants lukewarm food at a buffet. It’s not fun, but it’s fun for the bacteria, of course, she says.