Etiquette Tip of the Week: when I dip, you dip, we dip!

I have always balked at communal snacking . If I see a salsa sampling table at a grocery store, I pass. If there is a bowl of nuts on a bar, I scoff. Even if I host or am responsible for serving food, I try to provide individual serving options for things like dips, bread or fruit because of the irresistible urge to touch and grab more after just putting something in our mouths.

Well, I read an article in the NYTimes that detailed some of the findings of a Clemson Univeristy professor and his students after studying double-dipping. Inspired by a classic Seinfeld episode when George is chastised for double-dipping (“That’s like putting your whole mouth right in the dip!”), the project set out to find what, if anything, is transferred by double-dipping:

“On average, the students found that three to six double dips transferred about 10,000 bacteria from the eater’s mouth to the remaining dip … sporadic double dipping in a cup of dip would transfer at least 50 to 100 bacteria from one mouth to another with every bite … ”

(Note: they only tested for certain types of bacteria and didn’t study whether the bacteria was harmful)

There are a lot of variables that, admittedly, were not tested and they admit that the “actual risks are ‘debatable’.” But, Professor Dawson said, “the way I would put it is, before you have some dip at a party, look around and ask yourself, would I be willing to kiss everyone here?”

A while back Fredric wrote about 10 things that are not ybp (young, black or professional). Without his permission ;), I am adding double-dipping to that list.

(image via getty images)