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These chefs are doing their part to keep restaurant-goers safe when they venture out for a bite to eat.
buzzfeed This week he compiled a list of ‘red flags’ from Reddit users who claimed to be chefs with experience in the area of food safety.
Restaurant employees were asked to list warning signs that customers should look out for when eating out.
The list covered factors such as sanitation, food quality and relationships between staff members.
Anyone looking to grab a bite to eat at a restaurant should pay attention to these 10 red flags before ordering food.
Restaurant employees were asked to list warning signs that customers should look out for when eating out.
A list compiled by Reddit users offers a summary of signs that a restaurant is dirty.
‘If you notice your feet sticking to the ground, turn around and leave immediately’
Spilled drinks and food can make the floor dirty, and if not cleaned properly, mold or bacteria can form.
Sticky floors can be a sign that a restaurant doesn’t clean often enough.
Spilled food and drinks on the floor will cause it to become sticky if not cleaned properly.
‘For me the number one evaluation effect is smell. If it is a sour or disinfectant smell, it is a red flag.
Several factors can cause a sour or disinfectant smell, including spoiled food, inadequate cleaning, and problems with restaurant drains.
Guests who walk into a restaurant expecting to smell good food may get more than they bargained for if they smell a rotten smell.
Several factors can cause a sour or disinfectant smell, such as spoiled food or improper cleaning.
Other chefs have backed up this red flag, with one person giving advice on what to do when going out for seafood.
“I always say that if you walk into a seafood restaurant or restaurant, it should smell like the ocean,” wrote one Reddit user on a post from 2019.
‘If it smells like fresh air and salt water, it means everything is fresh. If it smells fishy, it starts to spoil, and if it starts, it will spoil very quickly.’
Another reason behind a restaurant’s horrible smell may also be a result of problems with the restaurant’s drains, according to Zoom Drain.
More than one Reddit user stated that when a restaurant has an extensive menu it means that their food is pre-cooked and not fresh
Another Reddit user who claimed to be a chef wrote that users should be wary of restaurants with “a huge menu” because they “serve nothing but frozen food.”
Fast food restaurant chains, such as McDonald’s and Wendy’s, prepare menu items such as hamburgers and chicken nuggets that are delivered frozen to restaurants.
Precooked foods can pose some health risks, and when improperly cooked or stored, guests can suffer from food poisoning or any other type of foodborne illness.
A Reddit user who claimed to have designed a restaurant’s menu wrote that the restaurant refused to send them photos of their meals and instead took photos from Google.
More than one Reddit user who claimed to be a chef wrote that it’s a big red flag if a restaurant uses photos of food that didn’t originate from their restaurant.
‘I designed a menu for a restaurant and left spaces for photographs. “They said they wouldn’t send any and told me to take pictures from Google,” wrote one Reddit user.
“I’ve never eaten there. I’d like to add that I had no idea what some of these dishes were. My favorite was “house special,” but they didn’t know what that would be. They told me to “add something nice.”
‘See fruit flies. ‘Fruit flies are a sign of a dirty kitchen’
Fruit flies are common in dirty kitchens and can carry salmonella, E. coli, and listeria, three germs that can cause food poisoning or put someone in the hospital.
Fruit flies in a restaurant kitchen may be attracted to things like dirty dishes, rotten fruit, or a moldy sponge.
Small insects attracted to dirt and moisture can transfer germs from a dirty surface to a clean one, according to WebMD.
Although they don’t bite humans, they can carry salmonella, E. coli, and listeria, three germs that can cause food poisoning or put someone in the hospital.
Fruit flies in restaurant kitchens have been taken more seriously in recent years and, in September 2022, were even classified as a critical violation at a Dave & Buster’s in Ontario.
‘Stay away from buffets and salad bars. Many times they are the same things that are filled in over and over again. Super disgusting
A chef warned restaurant customers to stay away from salad bars and buffet tables.
Buffet tables and salad bars in a restaurant can be harmful if food is not changed and containers and utensils are not cleaned properly.
Like fruit flies, buffet tables and salad bars can harbor various bacterial germs that can be harmful to restaurant diners.
“You can get almost anything that can be transmitted through oral secretions,” said Allison Agwu, a professor of pediatric and adult infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Vice in 2018.
“The main bacteria involved in unhealthy food buffets may be E. coli, salmonella or, more common in deli meats, listeria.”
One Reddit user stated that “it is not reasonably possible to run a health buffet business,” which could be true if the guidelines are not followed.
He FDA revealed tips on how to properly care for a buffet table at a restaurant or at home in a blog post last March and includes tips on temperature and freshness.
Officials wrote that hot foods should be kept at an internal temperature of 140 degrees or higher and that people should use a food thermometer to check.
They also noted that bacteria on a person’s hands can also spread bacteria, which can multiply when food is at room temperature.
A survey cited by Psychology Today in 2016 concluded that spelling errors on menus do not typically affect the dining experience.
While it’s unclear if this is the case at all restaurants, this chef calls this practice a red flag.
A survey cited by Psychology Today in 2016 he even concluded that spelling errors on menus do not usually affect the dining experience.
However, a Reddit user wrote in 2015 that they believe a restaurant with spelling errors on its menu is “sloppy” and assume it has “bad food.”
A menu could “serve as a vehicle for pathogens,” according to a 2013 report. In some establishments, employees must clean menus.
Most restaurants focus on cleanliness and keeping employees and customers safe from illness.
In many restaurants, employees must clear menus before or after closing.
According to a 2013 report reportphysical menus can “serve as vehicles for pathogens.”
Other germs that can be transmitted through unwashed menus include staphylococcus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, which are difficult to treat.
‘Be careful with the waiters. If most of them seem unhappy or upset, things are probably not going very well. They probably don’t care about your food if they aren’t treated fairly.
A big red flag, according to several Reddit users, is if a restaurant manager or owner berates or verbally abuses their staff.
Several Reddit users warned guests to be aware of staff interactions.
“A big red flag would be seeing a manager or owner berate or verbally abuse an employee in public,” wrote one Reddit user. one of the publications of 2021.
The idea behind this red flag is that disgruntled employees tend not to care as much about their jobs and won’t go the extra mile to ensure food safety measures are followed.
