One time, my team needed audio of people eating, so our sound guy recorded us eating our lunch with a really sensitive mic.

Bad idea indeed. Next time tell him he should record people using forks and knives and plates, but not any sounds that come from the mouth.

Scenes where people eat are “cleaned” very much in films. You see and hear people talking, playing a little with their food and that’s that. Never the real action of chewing, swallowing etc. (unless the film actually wants to create some bad vibes)