The custom for the breakfast buffet

When in Germany I always re-use my plate and cup. I can't see the health issue.

Thankfully, European countries do not regulate behavior down to every little detail and give people some credit for common sense. As hotels will typically have tourists from Asia, Africa, the MIddle East and North America, as well as Europeans, you will see all types of potential behaviors with regards to buffet. Sometimes I use a clean plate, sometimes I re-use my plate. Depends.

You're eating from a plate you've just used so where's the issue? If I had eaten something that was messy (unlikely in a buffet) then I would probably use a new plate but not for any hygiene issue.

There is no protocol, do what you want. Re-using a plate is the least of your hygiene worries.

The cross contamination issue is supposed to arise from the serving spoons potentially touching your dirty plate, which will have been in contact with your fork that has been in your mouth, or that you might have sneezed over etc. However, the handles of the serving spoons etc will also be contaminated by all the people handling them, so logically these ought to be fresh every time as well. Or maybe everyone ought to be using gloves ...

Who commits the offense? The person reusing their plate or the restaurant for not preventing them from doing so?

cross contamination
Careless me hasn't thought about that. Danger lurks in the most unexpected corners.

@JC I have no issue...please reread the question.

Yes...cross contamination is the issue in the US and why the health dept has the regulations. I do not really care either way...just curious what the local custom was. Thanks to those who understood the question.

This is a bigger problem in the U.S., because people go back to the buffet so many times.

Intersting question. Here in Canada there's a popular buffet chain that insists on fresh plates every trip up. They serve the drinks.

I've cruised a fair amount and we've all heard about noro outbreaks on ships. You are meant to get a fresh plate each time but I see more effort in policing the drinks station - new cup every time! If there's any kind of illness they put staff in charge of serving the buffet so nobody touches the serving utensils. They also remove salt and pepper and anything else from the table.

Since cruise lines put so much effort into buffet cleanliness I must assume they know that is where a lot of it is spread. Just try passing the entry and not getting nabbed by the hand sanitizer person!

Of course if there's illness spread by a breakfast buffet in Europe who could trace it - we all continue on to a myriad of places and countries never knowing where we picked it up.

The title of the post lead me to flashbacks of witnessing groups rushing the breakfast buffets as if it's their last meal for days.

It appears to be a myth that clean plates at buffets in the US are required by law. I found lots of regulations about temp control, and sneeze guards, and frequency of serving spoon change (every 4 hrs) and even rules about not keeping metal spoons in contact with hot dishes but off to the side to prevent burns-- but nothing about using a clean plate. Looks like it's just etiquette only.

I have been to breakfast buffets in France, Germany, Switzerland Austria and Greece. Most people used the same plate. I decided by what I was eating. If I had a plate of something that got my plate dirty, I.e. Fruit and my plate got wet, then if I wanted bread I got a new plate. But I would say pretty much everyone used the same plate.

Board of Health regulations vary by state. If it's not required to get a clean plate, it's certainly a good practice. Imagine someone spilling the remains of their gravy into the chicken. Or if they took something out of their mouth and put it on their plate, then touched that something with the spoon you're about to use. Everyone properly grossed out yet? Restaurants would have to throw out a pan of food if it was contaminated by a customer, so they're pretty vigilant about it.

@JC I have no issue...please reread the question.
Yes...cross contamination is the issue in the US and why the health dept has the regulations. I do not really care either way...just curious what the local custom was. Thanks to those who understood the question.

I understood the question perfectly well. I was asking what the issue is regarding a new plate and cup at every refill.

Is it really something that is bothering you enough to warrant asking such a question? How about waiting until you get to where you're going and see what everyone else is doing. I sometimes wonder why so many people want to know every detail to the nth degree, surely part of the fun in travelling is experiencing a different culture and way of doing things.

Prepare for things to be done differently in Italy. No gloves, no face masks, hairnets or improvised beard covers, and certainly no antiseptic handiwipes and applicator bottles every three feet.

Christi is on her well-deserved and long-delayed adventure right now. Yay.
It is interesting to observe how little things like, say, breakfast can be different from place to place when we travel?

Very glad that you and Ray had a lovely time in Paris, Christi! :O)

Didn't know about the required clean glass in the States. Just call me Typhoid Mary.

I think people keep the same plates because dishes are not cleared in France until the diner signals; they aren't whisked away as in the US. People don't want to look like little piggies with a stack of plates in front of them, so they just use the same plate. And if busing their own, they consider it gross to use a busing station and then return to the food bar.

I do not frequent buffets in the US, but have had breakfast buffet experiences in numerous European countries and never was aware of anyone policing my use--or not--of a clean plate. The attendants seem more interested to know what room you're in and monitoring the coffee machine. It's rare for me to want seconds anyway, but I have been known to take a couple of Nutella packets back to my room for late night sweet tooth urges.

Buffets, in particular, are pretty ripe for contamination. There can be a giant stack of clean plates, cups and silverware next to that buffet, but how about the guests that went through the line before you? I've seen plenty of people forego the serving spoons and tongs and just stick their hands right into a buffet to grab a roll, or a few slices of bacon. I've seen people pick up an apple off a buffet spread, inspect it and then put it back down in favor of another apple. Who's to say the person handling that apple didn't just sneeze or cough into their hand 2 minutes before getting into the buffet line? Or worse... I used to go to a bar that had a unisex bathroom - 10 stalls around a bunch of sinks in the center. I cannot tell you how many times I witnessed men and women walk out of a toilet stall, fix their hair, completely blow off washing their hands with soap and water and then proceed back to standing at the bar where they'd be dipping their hands into the communal bowls of pretzels or peanuts sitting on top of the bar.

The protocol of fresh plate vs. dirty plate at a breakfast buffet is definitely the least of your worries, but if there are adequate amounts of clean plates, cups and silverware at the buffet, then err on the side of caution and just use a fresh one each time you go to a buffet. It's not like you'll be up at the buffet 10 separate times, or at least I would hope not.

Hotels and Pensionen in Germany and Austria serve breakfast buffets, the traditional German breakfast, what I saw 30-40 years ago, is no longer served, at least I have not seen it in years. At the breakfast buffets in those German and Austrian hotels, I change plates as a matter of course by using a clean one for second helpings.

I understood the question perfectly well. I was asking what the issue is regarding a new plate and cup at every refill.
Is it really something that is bothering you enough to warrant asking such a question? How about waiting until you get to where you're going and see what everyone else is doing. I sometimes wonder why so many people want to know every detail to the nth degree, surely part of the fun in travelling is experiencing a different culture and way of doing things.

@JC - had you really understood the question you would realize I am there and this is what I have observed so far. We are all about experiencing where we are. Again - just wondering what the local protocol is.

I have only ever stayed in smaller hotels , and do not usually take hotle breakfasts , but in the few places I have taken it , there are maybe 15-30 other guests , not 100-20O guests , so not the same chances of mass contamination . I thinkntaking a new glass or plate every time would be considered wasteful in many of those places , they often only have one or two people on staff to work breakfast buffets , no huge dishwasher etc .

After reading this, I think I may switch my breakfast plan for my upcoming trip to my standard protocol for food-in-questionable-situations:

No thanks honey, I'm not really hungry, you go ahead and enjoy. I'll just have a Pepsi (from a bottle I watch being opened, drank through a straw I remove from its paper sleeve myself)...

I would not be surprised to see people re-use plates at a buffet in Germany or elsewhere in Europe. I never heard that this was the law in he U.S. Actually though germ freak though I am, I don't always use a fresh plate myself. Especially if all I put on the plate was a croissant. Obviously the issue is when people use the serving spoon and touch the plate that they have already eaten from. I am not too keen on servers that touch the water pitcher on the water glass, either. How many other glasses have they done that with before mine? One time I was going to eat at at sandwich shop in Boston, and the guy that made sandwiches was also handling cash. No gloves, no hand washing--eek! All of this coming from someone who actually kissed the Blarney Stone in 2002!

If it is a cold buffet, I wouldn't worry about getting a clean plate. If it is a hot buffet, then yes, get a clean one. The same goes for salad bars. The serving spoon scooping out the scrambled eggs, shouldn't be touching your plate that you just ate from.
Other than that, Germans are just a lot more relaxed and not germ obsessed like Americans are.

I worked in Disease Control and Prevention and I avoid buffets if at all possible. I am surprised that I eat out at all. I would use a clean plate each trip to a buffet.

@JC - had you really understood the question you would realize I am there and this is what I have observed so far. We are all about experiencing where we are. Again - just wondering what the local protocol is.

Why would you even consider that there was a protocol about whether you require a clean plate or not? You're there, you've seen what others are doing, surely that answers your question?

I must have had hundreds of buffet breakfast in hotels in most of the countries of Europe and as far as I am aware there is no official protocol regarding the reuse of plates or glasses.

With the serious concerns expressed here about cross-contamination and the like, it is strange that so many tourists are surprised when they go into an Italian supermarket and are expected to wear plastic gloves when handling fresh fruit and vegetables.

It's pretty rare that I go back for seconds at a breakfast buffet, i mainly would if there was something that I initially wanted and that item was either out or there was a mob of people in front of it and I didn't want to wait. Otherwise, if I go back, it's often just to grab a croissant or something small, so i'll use a small clean plate.

I can't imagine getting a new glass each time however. I'm going to have more than one cup of coffee and I'm usually having more than one glass of water as well. I've always used the same cup and glass.

Good thing we can't see into most of the kitchens.

In some smaller European hotels, your plate and/or coffee cup are already set on the dining table. So once you choose a table, you take that plate to the buffet. Sometimes you only notice because you went to the buffet first and couldn't find any plates or cups there. I think these would more usually end up being cold buffets, not scrambled eggs and sausages.

If I considered every means in which one could get "contaminated", I'd never leave my apartment let alone travel overseas. Do some of you worry that the orange you have selected might have been touched by someone who just sneezed? That could apply at both a buffet and grocery store. Do you worry about who touched door handles before you did?

It's a breakfast buffet -- I've never gone for seconds.

I've never heard about such a law in the US, but I'm also trying to think if I've returned to a buffet table for seconds on the meal...as I try not to make too much work for other people I wouldn't think to use a clean plate. Especially, if at a wedding, they had a chocolate fountain...I won't go near them. Gross. And the tong handles probably have the most germs anyway.

What continental said - I never go for seconds anyway. Take what you need the first time. Perhaps that is the custom in Europe?

Having done food service inspections, I can tell you that salad bars and buffets are a major source of food-borne illness in the US. Combination of sloppy browsers, and cold (uncooked) food being handled.

A clean plate rule would not be a federal issue but is handled at the state or county level. The obvious answer is at larger buffets with more people, it would be a good idea to require clean plates. At small B&B's this would seem silly. I'm not a germophobe but if you watch groups of people go through a buffet line you will see some unhygienic behaviors. The majority don't even do the simplest of hygiene behaviors prior to getting in line....they don't wash their hands.

Recycling is a wonderful practice. However, it is best NOT to recycle your dirty plate back into the clean plate pile. Same for utensils, etc.

"Take what you need the first time. Perhaps that is the custom in Europe?"

I'd say that it is the custom in Europe to take small portions, only what you're sure you can eat, and to go back for seconds if you wish at breakfast. They also tend toward small glasses for juice and water. Some "courses" available at breakfast will automatically use different tableware, such as a fruit/yogurt/cereal bowl, or a traditional bread-and-butter side plate. What could be frowned upon is the more stereotypically American practice of overloading a plate, especially if it's more than you end up eating. In a small hotel, the breakfast buffet is probably also small and not stocked with enough food for an army. So don't wipe out the supplies if other guests also need a chance. (Going back for seconds does not apply in some restaurant situations, but moderation still does.)

No Keith. You don't get immunity from exposure to some of those viruses and parasites you can get from other people. This is like the pickpocketing concerns that come up - its a very low probability but high consequence risk. You don't need to be afraid, just aware.

Thanks everyone - this has been interesting indeed. Health Regs are set at the state, county, and city level in the US - somewhere someone has set the rule for clean plates at the buffet. I have been serve-safe certified for 15 years and am familiar with the regs.

What we have noticed is some of each - clearly a clean plate is not required here - people tend to take breakfast in several "courses" here - not all in one trip. They generally use a clean plate for each type of food.

Thanks for your on-the-spot report Emma!! Looks like you're investigating the Singapore food and libations scene quite well!

So emma, did you consume the second Singapore Sling or, what the hey, lost count?

Obviously I had the second sling, rude not to!

and then...who cares about the buffet! I think you've found the key!