Holidays can lurch from heaven to hell in a heartbeat… one minute you’re tucking into an al fresco seafood lunch, the next the toilet bowl is your new best friend.
Anyone who’s had food poisoning while away will tell you it can truly obliterate a trip, so it’s not surprising it’s the top travel fear among British holidaymakers according to research by travel insurance company Staysure.
However, while you can’t always control whether food poisoning or a gastro bug such as norovirus is heading your way, there are steps you can definitely take, say experts, to vastly reduce your chances of being ill.
We asked two experts, food science and culinary history consultant Dr Sue Bailey and chef and food safety expert Mark McShane to share their advice on staying well while abroad.
IS IT SAFE TO DRINK THE WATER? AND WHAT ABOUT USING TAP WATER TO BRUSH YOUR TEETH?
Many travellers stick to bottled water on their trips, but do they still need to?
Tourists have passed on the tale that drinking the local tap water is ‘risky’ for years – but is it just a myth? Are we now in an era where we can drink from the tap in most common holiday destinations?
Not quite, says Dr Bailey, who explains ‘not all countries globally have such good water treatment as we have in the UK’.
In many European countries, and English-speaking destinations like Australia, the tap water is ‘fine to drink,’ says the expert.
However, she urges travellers heading to South and South East Asia, Africa, the Middle East plus South America and Mexico to be much more careful.
Read More
UK’s top 100 restaurants revealed – here’s the full list
There, ‘officially bottled water with an unbroken seal is always the safest option’, the academic says.
She continues: ‘The risk of bacteria, viruses, protozoa and midge larvae, flatworms and roundworms for example can enter the water systems via old or ruptured pipes. Even local people in these counties may often boil their tap water for at least a minute.’
The consultant is even wary of brushing her teeth or having ice cubes in her drinks in the more risky countries for tap water.
Food safety expert Mark McShane echoes Dr Bailey’s verdict and says that, in places where ‘sanitation infrastructure is inadequate’, he opts for bottled or treated water too, just to be safe.
‘Brushing your teeth with tap water can sometimes be enough to upset your stomach if your system has not yet adapted to the local micro-organisms,’ the chef adds.
THE HOLIDAY DISHES TO DODGE: FROM OYSTERS AND RARE STEAK TO CARPACCIO AND CEVICHE
Some local delicacies can feature raw ingredients, such as steak tartare – or even live larva like Casu Marzu, an Italian cheese that has live maggots in its centre.
Dr Bailey says: ‘I am not as adventurous as to try the maggot cheese but steak tartare and molluscs such as oysters, clams and mussels are the foods that can give you norovirus, or hepatitis A – even in European countries.
‘As for eating steak tartare? Raw minced beef plus a raw egg yolk should certainly not be served to at-risk groups such as pregnant women, small children, the elderly, and immunocompromised people,’ she adds.
The food expert recalls an unpleasant experience of her own in Paris, when she tried steak tartare ‘in what we thought was a good restaurant’.
Steak tartare – raw, minced beef, can present problems if not prepared in hygienic conditions
However, Dr Bailey shares ‘the next few hours visiting the loos of Paris was not fun’.
‘I was surprised, as the standards of food regulation and meat sourcing in France are normally good,’ she adds. ‘Even so, I tend to only eat it in the UK.’
Dr Bailey also mentions beef carpaccio, sushi and tuna ceviche as other raw foods ‘that rely upon good sourcing, careful refrigeration and preparation’.
Seafood is often considered a risky dish to order, even when in the UK, and it’s fair to say it has a bad reputation for causing illness.
However, chef McShane, 32, argues ‘a traveller doesn’t have to give up all seafood while travelling’ and instead urges holidaymakers to ‘be selective and use good judgement’ when it comes to dining on fruits of the ocean.
Chef Mark McShane says travellers should ‘be selective and use good judgement’ when it comes to eating seafood abroad
Most food poisoning with seafood occurs ‘when a product has had its “cold chain” broken; i.e., it wasn’t stored or shipped at the right temperature,’ the chef explains.
Red flags to look out for? Check if the restaurant is busy, he says. If it is, that’s usually a good sign the food is well prepared – and check if locals are eating there too.
If the seafood also smells ‘fresh and clean’ and not ‘too fishy’, you’re likely in the clear.
‘Generally coastal communities that depend on seafood will provide travellers with an excellent, safe meal,’ McShane adds.
‘However, I would advise against purchasing raw shellfish at a street vendor or at any place that doesn’t appear to follow sanitary guidelines.’
Other foods he thinks travellers should be particularly wary of include ‘unrefrigerated dairy products, buffet-style rice dishes, mayonnaise-based salads and under-cooked poultry and pre-washed cut fruits that have been sat in direct sunlight’.
McShane also warns against hotel buffets, explaining how they can be ‘hazardous if not properly maintained’.
‘A major concern about buffets is the length of time food can remain lukewarm,’ he adds, noting it will often sit out ‘while hundreds of individuals’ use the serving utensils.
If you have to stick to the hotel buffet, go for ‘items that are continually being cooked fresh’, as well as food that is ‘clearly steaming hot’.
Be mindful too of uncooked food such as fruits, herbs or salad; they may have been washed in contaminated water that might ‘can contain bacteria or parasites,’ he says.
IS STREET FOOD SAFE TO ENJOY?
Dr Bailey avoided an oyster stall in Spain after seeing them kept in ‘very little ice’ (stock)
‘Street foods that appear to have been partially cooked and then reheated multiple times during the course of the day’ should be avoided says McShane.
And one experience that stands out for Dr Bailey during her travels is a questionable oyster stand she spotted in Spain.
‘I really enjoy oysters, but when I saw them being shucked by an outside market trader in Cadiz, Spain, with very little ice surrounding them and a cigarette hanging from his lower lip and a dirty wiping cloth – I avoided them completely,’ she recalls.
‘Street food and risky restaurant practices – food sitting warm for hours, poor storage and handwashing plus the risk of poor refrigeration are the main culprits.’
The expert warns that countries don’t always have ‘the same scrupulous food hygiene regulations and controls’ as the UK for example, ‘where using the same knife for raw and cooked food or storing raw fish or meat above cooked or dirty chopping boards would be unacceptable’.
DR BAILEY’S GUIDE TO WHERE’S RISKY WHEN IT COMES TO FOOD POISONING…
High risk countries: India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan
Food science and culinary history consultant Dr Sue Bailey
‘Power cuts may mean that refrigeration breaks, particularly in rural areas and water contamination is common too,’ our expert says.
‘There are risks of E. coli, Shigella, Campylobacter, and typhoid exposure in these and moderate risk countries.’
Moderate risk countries: Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Egypt, Morocco, plus Mexico, Peru and Guatemala
‘Be aware that the hot seasons before a monsoon period can increase the risk,’ the food expert says.
‘Having been attacked by very bad diarrhoea in Indonesia where the refrigeration of seafood at a hotel beach buffet may have suffered from an earlier power cut – I am now rather wary of seafood in Asia – although I love it.’
Low risk destinations: Italy, Spain, France and Japan, as well as Eastern Europe
