Are buffets inherently unsanitary?

I have been to a couple of buffets this holiday season – that is, where most of the attendees bring some part of the meal to share (some salads, some desserts, some entrees, and some vegetables), and all the serving dishes are out on tables in the open air. People walk by and take items as they wish.

I was also at a buffet-restaurant; again open air, reach over and grab what you want.

These strike me as terribly unsanitary with a high possibility of contamination and disease.

First, the food isn’t kept as warm (platters are sitting on an open table) and therefore subject to contamination.

More importantly, anything can drop into an open dish or platter by the person serving themselves. Would you want to accidentally eat someone’s dandruff? Or perhaps a drop of snot falling from their nose? Or perhaps a strand of hair or an eyelash?

I’m not hypochondriac, but it seems that buffets (home or restaurant) are nothing but sickness ready to happen.

Will you be at any buffets this week?