I was at a swanky Manhattan holiday party the other evening, when the host brought out a delicious looking bowl of spinach dip. Operating all day without food, I was anxious to get a tasty portion of the popular horsdevour into my belly without delay. But then something happened that turned my stomach and suddenly made me lose all appetite.
Before I could get to the food table, a handful of party patrons beat me to it and partook in the spinach delicacy. They grabbed up pieces of bread and crackers, dived into the dip, bit off half then re-dipped back into the bowl. YUCK!
When another party attendee called them on the perils of putting a piece of bread in their mouth then back into the bowl, the double-dippers looked at her like a deer in headlights as if she were speaking Russian. They just didn’t get it!
For those of you who are unaware, saliva carries a great deal of bacteria. So, when you put a piece of bread or cracker into your mouth then back into the bowl, you are adding an unintended ingredient to the dip — your own germ-riddled saliva.
Paul Dawson, a professor of food science at Clemson University in South Carolina, discovered in a study that there were 1,000 times more bacteria in dip that had been double-dipped than dip that was fresh. This can potentially spread colds, flu and other viral infections. Is this really what you signed up for when you approached the food table?
So as we prepare for the myriad of parties for the remainder of the holiday season, please be socially conscious and STOP DOUBLE DIPPING!
