Are black bears attracted to trace amounts of food?

Question

For the purpose of this question I am interested in black bears in an area with relatively low human pressure, plenty of natural habitat and presumably natural food sources.

The scenario I'm considering is eating a meal at a picnic table in a dining tent / screen tent. After eating, all trash is removed and the table is wiped clean. Any significant spills or fallen food are cleaned up, trash and food is then stored elsewhere in a bear safe location.

However, trace amounts of food and the related aromas are bound to remain on the table and surrounding dining area.

Are the traces of food left behind in a well cleaned wilderness eating area expected to attract bears?

Answer 1

Are black bears attracted to trace amounts of food?

The short answer seems to be yes.

If any animal could smell trace amounts of food, then bears definitively qualify.

Smelling is a bear’s go-to sense, on par with us humans and our eyesight. Bears are known to be able to smell 100 times better than your dog, while your dog is able to sniff out snacks and seemingly the most disgusting thing around 300 times better than we can.

Bear’s Sense of Smell Vs. Humans

A bear’s sense of smell about 2,100-3,000 times better than a human’s. - A Bear’s Sense of Smell – How Good Is It?

Further information may be gleaned from the following article:

• A Bear's Sense of Smell

Answer 2

My answer, based on personal experience in the Sierra and Rockies over 40 years, is no, not at the level you describe. Caveat -- I don't have experience eating in a dining tent, or on a picnic table, or anyplace where many other people regularly eat. You may scrupulously clean up as you have described, but many others may not have and spills and food droppings add up.

Our experience is with back-country camping, at a campsite with no other people present, and completely undeveloped campsites, nothing anyone looking for a place to camp would zero in on. We cook near our tent and in bad enough weather right outside our tent door. We eat near our tent, and in bad weather, inside the tent. After a few days, our clothes and hair undoubtedly smell of food. I'd usually have a snack of gorp and M&Ms in my sleeping bag before going to sleep. Before bear canisters became de rigeur, we hung our food and our garbage, our soap and our toothpaste. Although several times in the early days, a bear came to our campsite, it was always because we had not properly stowed our food.

With bear canisters, best to place them away from your sleeping place. Bears know what they are and will make a stab at opening them, disturbing your sleep. Bears also know what is in that bag hanging from a limb of a tree.

You specified black bears. I have no experience with brown bears.