Bowls of food

Do you hesitate to eat foods like chips, nuts, popcorn etc. from large bowls set out at parties or office events? It doesn't really bother me but I've had a few friends mention they won't touch it. The rationale being that someone's urine stained hand could contaminate the entire batch. Any truth to it? Personally I think not, I'm still alive and kicking after 40+ years, but it's starting to influence my decisions on what I bring to home/work gatherings. I'm hesistant to bring something really nice like gourmet toffee popcorn if it's just gonna sit there and get thrown out at the end.

Very good point. I'm not going out any more. Guess I'll have to console myself with staying in with large bowls of treats and eating them all by myself with my urine-free mitts.
Thank you for this public-spirited announcement, Manch.

Yow- never thought of it that way- gross! Usually don't eat that kinda stuff anyhow, unless maybe it's at a party at my house...(at least I know it'll be the urine-stained hand of a friend!!!)

Your friends are ridiculous, miserable toads.

Take Sunchips harvest cheddar or Tostitos hint of lime. No one can resist those.

R u sure that's urine?

Its not the urine I would worry about as well... what about those who double dip reusing a half eaten chip to scoop out dips....

Someone was doing that at a stall in food show at the weekend....

What was the name of the Indian president who used to drink a glass of urine every morning? I admit he is now dead but I don't think it was the urine wot did it.

I have no concerns with urine stained peanuts. I do worry about those who worry about such things though.

Double dipping doesn't keep me awake at night either I must confess.

I have also been known to break the 5 second rule, the shame of it :)

#6 -- Murarji "Pissy" Desai.

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<hr>I have also been known to break the 5 second rule, the shame of it :)<hr></blockquote>

Is that just of late tilly?

OP, that's a very "posh" concern of your friends.
It all depends on circumstances.
It made me think of my recent hike to Machu Picchu. Already, after the first day, all nine of us, complete strangers from five countries, age 20-54, gathered in a tent, sharing snacks from a plastic bowl and passing a bottle of whiskey around, no glasses. It was dark and freezing cold outside, and there was no water to wash your hands after having a pee.

When you bring the large tin of toffee popcorn to work, also bring a mug or food scoop that people can use to fill a coffee-filter paper bowl. Keeps clean hands from getting sticky, and discourages dirty hands from touching everything.

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<hr>The rationale being that someone's urine stained hand could contaminate the entire batch.<hr></blockquote>
Contaminate it with what?

yeah, there's some truth to it, bowls of peanuts in bars have been analysed and lord-knows-how-many samples of pee have been found on them thanks to those who don't wash.

IMO, it's one to file under paranoia, however.

My neighborhood bar provides little bowls of peanuts or snacks to each patron, then discards them when said patron leaves. They also have drinking straws that are wrapped in plastic in such a way that the bartender snaps off the bottom portion of the wrap and inserts the straw into the glass without ever touching it. Paranoid, in my opinion.

#12 - I agree about the stereotype, and offered up the suggestion only to encourage OP to bring in the great treats. I personally have no worries about the shared dried snacks dish in an office or small party group. At a restaurant or bar, thought, I want to only share food with people I know.

E-Boi, yeah, double dipping's an issue. If possible I try to take the food item and turn it around end dip the unbitten side into the dip. It's easy w/ like a breadstick but not as easy w/ shrimp.

Midwesterner, now that you mention it my mom used to do that when she had her girlfriends over. She'd pour bridge mix into a gravy boat (or something that looked like it) and they'd ladle out the mix onto a cocktail napkin. I totally forgot about that.

ManchVegas, I believe that trick of your mother's was less about the ladies pawing through the shared bridge mix, and more about comfort. I.e., with individual portions, they didn't have to hunch over the common bowl.

Yeah, they were just being girly girls probably. It's funny because you don't see a lot of females grab handfuls of stuff and shove it into their mouths (well, in public anyway) . It must be considered "un-ladylike".

You are right, ManchVegas ~~ we girls are trained from infancy to squelch those kinds of impulses. Everyone knows that otherwise the world would be subjected to the sight of women walking around with open boxes of bridge mix, dumping the stuff straight down their gullets.

Urine is sterile and most people don't piss on themselves anyway-not the one I know anyway.

I don't have a problem w/ it Bix......as long as they're not doing it topless!

Cardamom......not sure about that, depends on how inebriated they are.

Ceylont......no, they most certainly do not make overseas trips, but then again 90% of the world doesn't.

If I'm in a situation where I can make a hygienic choice, I will. I don't typically eat from shared bowls or communal bags of potato chips (this is college afterall... bowls are actually considered quite posh!)... but sometimes there isn't really an option. I went on an all-day barbecue in the middle of nowhere on the border of France and Italy... and before we got back in our cars to drive home we all took turns peeing behind a big rock. On the way home, we passed cart beside the road where a local farmer was selling fresh gorgonzola dolce... we couldn't resist and ended up eating it all with our bare hands right out of the package. Yes, with our just-peed-behind-a-rock hands. And it haunts me to this day, so that should give you some idea of how highly I regard clean hands when eating.

If you're going to serve toffee popcorn or something, why not have a big serving bowl with a spoon so that guests can ladle the popcorn into their own personal Dixie cups?

#24, girls taking turns peeing on hands behind rock.............

Hmmmm......what about Gummi Bears from a communal bowl? I've seen that before. Would that be a "no go"? They're kind of moist so may harbor bacteria......but I love 'em too much, plus you wash 'em down w/ enough vodka and it kills the germs.

That's key, you must drink massive amounts of booze for medicinal purposes.

Either that, or slosh vodka on your hands after peeing.

I thought the "Research" about urine-tainted peanuts was an urban myth?

I try not to eat too many nibbles because of the fat and salt content, not for hygiene reasons.

And I often double dip, but I turn the chip round for the second dip so the bit that my mouth has touched doesn't go in the dip.

Places my mouth has been I've nought to worry.

It's not just the urine you need worry about, i can't bare to look at M&M's anymore!

lol @ 27. That said, a short trip on the Metro today may make me reconsider. This is Thanksgiving weekend in the U.S., so lots of families are visiting from out of town. I ran into a family group of 3 adult women, 2 adult men and one young girl. I could not understand their dialect of Spanish, but I am guessing at least some of them were from the Dominican Republic. One adult woman notes the snot on the little girl's upper lip and uses her finger to remove it. She then pokes her fingers into the little girl's nostrils. After doing this, she proceeds to poke her fingers into her own nostrils. One of the men then does the same, poking his fingers into his own nostrils. There are no tissues or handkerchiefs employed in any of this. I sure as heck don't want these people dipping their fingers into the snacks at my local bar!

Usually there are traces of fecal matter even on the finest silverware if you don't set the table wearing sterile gloves.

ManchVegas, never thought of it myself! I suppose it could be true, but then it could also be true that I could become a millionairess tomorrow... In other words, I´d rather not thinking about anything like that!

By the way, gourmet toffee popcorn?????

Yeah, Gourmet toffe corn .....you must've tried http://www.lincolnsnacks.com/poppycock/index.asp (sorry, you can no longer link)

Anyway, try it, I keep it on hand for guests when they drop by.