I like salad bars, they tempt me often when they appear well-kept. However, I have wondered for years (not that I advocate or hope for it) why there haven't been any reports of serious incidents of poisoning. The Tylenol or Excedrin scare, don't remember the brand, maybe both, was indeed disturbing. But it took someone a lot of trouble to tamper with the packages and so forth. How easy would it be to (while helping yourself to a salad) slip a vial of poison or contaminated/dangerous substance into say, one of the salad dressings, sprinkled over the lettuce, or any number of the varied items found at a salad bar. We worry about people flying more planes into more buildings but consider a similar planned/synchronized (or even individual) effort to poison/kill thousands by merely having someone to do his small part at xyz grocer/market. The first report of illness, like the first plane, would probably be thought an accident/anamoly however with one or two more similar reports, and escalating, mass hysteria would no doubt ensue and it would be just as effective as 9/11 although not as visually dramatic perhaps unless you consider the sight of hundreds of sick/dying patients (children even) to be dramatic (which I do). Salad bars are tempting but they are also objects of suspicion in my opinion. Here in the Kansas City area there was an instance of an employee sabotaging with a very carcinogenic pesticide some salsa at a mexican-type restaurant and the business suffered economically not to mention the people who now have to wonder about the after-effects of being poisoned in such a monstrous act. So it would seem that salad bars are eventually going to capture some terrorist or person of no conscience or insane to wreak havoc again with Americans. I presume they have salad bars in other countries but I don't know for sure so America or wherever else the opportunity presents. A multiple-site planned "attack" would be far more alarming than a single incidence so that is why I consider it more likely done by terrorists or a grudge war to wage than the single madman but that of course doesn't mean the single madman won't act, it just won't get quite as much attention. And, as with the mexican food establishment, it will take a while to find out it was sabotage and not just some bug that sickened its patrons. Either way, I both love and fear salad bars.

Right Doug-but what is the risk/benefit of having the school Aage population change their eating habits for the better vs. the risk associated with foodborne illness. I agree-one has to be careful but there has to be a greater benefit if the country was to adopt salad bars across the board and than work on food handler education and total quality management later??