New Terrorist Target: The Salad Bar

An unsettling report if you are planning on going to your favorite restaurant for a holiday brunch or the all-you-can-eat buffet: Terrorists may be planning to poison the food at these venues, perhaps over a single weekend.

Homeland Security apparently have found out that an Al Qaeda-affiliated group may be plotting to sprinkle deadly ricin or cyanide on restaurant salad bars and buffets. As little as 250 mg could be fatal according to scientists. Quietly, the government has evidently have warned some in the U.S. hotel and restaurant industry that they may have been targeted. Counter-terrorism officials have not officially confirmed the report, however.

In the past, questions have been raised about the freshness of buffet-style food in general, but this threat of course is far more serious.

Since the buffet is a part of Americana, the hospitality industry may have to implement new procedures with this threat in mind.

Here is the report from CBS News:

Image by Deror avi