Abstract: A salad tong having a pair of resilient gripping arms and a hand guard assembly. The hand guard assembly may be in the form of a U-shaped guard having a front wall with the rear ends of the tong extending through a slot therein and having a rear wall with a slot through which the rear end of the salad tong extends, with a locking pin to hold the salad tongs in position. Alternately, the hand guard assembly is in the form of a separate hand grip on each arm.