food and health

piglet

Hi people
Posting here as this is general as well as health,when people say don't eat meat in India does that include normal type hotels (I mean not really cheap backpacker places)? If we stay in ,say , a 3* or 4* place in Goa does that mean we can't eat the yummy looking food there too? sorry but I am a newbie and a bit nervous....

-m2-

there are three concerns regarding eating meat in India:

1. the condition of the animal to be slaughtered. No standards that I'm aware of. Goan pigs eat human excrement as part of their diet, for instance.

2. the conditions under which the animal is slaughtered, butchered and marketed -- general lack of hygiene and refrigeration, check out the markets at Panjim, Margao, or Mapusa (depending on which part of Goa you stay) and you'll see what I mean.

3. the actual conditions in your 3 or 4* hotel kitchen -- you can take a peek, and it might be ok, but don't count on super-hygiene or proper food handling just because you are paying a fair price.


--Chicken is generally ok as it is prepared soon after slaughter -- just be sure it is thoroughly cooked as in a curry or slightly dry if done in tandoori oven.

--Fish in Goa is usually fresh and kept on ice -- pick your fish or prawns yourself from the restaurant's selection to be sure.

-- be very careful about 'buffet' meals -- dishes may be prepared long in advance and improperly held (hot stuff not hot, cold stuff not refrigerated). I've heard many stories of food poisoning from 'special buffets'.

On the other hand, don't worry unduly about food in Goa -- I suspect you will be eating more of your meals at 'beach shacks' rather than the overpriced hotel restaurants anyway. I've never had a problem, but then I don't eat red meat either.

wonderwomanusa

I've eaten red meat dishes in various areas (though not in Goa) on every visit, and none of them specifically made me ill, that I know of.

I tend to choose busy Muslim or Punjabi restaurants when I'm feeling carniverous.

__________________
The map is not the territory. --Alfred Korzybski

Mirjam

I would avoid meat, although I sometimes eat it. But in Goa, you will be able to get real fresh fish. If you like fish, that's better. We stayed in a small village and had fish 5 times a week and never fell ill.

A misunderstanding is that food in the so-called better places is safe to eat. I have heard so often that people became ill in the better hotels. The best is to make sure there are many people eating (which is often the case in the simple restaurants where the Indians eat themselves). That way, the food is often fresh.

And if this is your first time India, be prepared to feel sick for a couple of days. I think 95% of those going for the first time will have some problem or the other... Need not be serieus, take black tea and rest and you'll be ok!

Alan D

As -m2- says there is not the same strict control of hygiene and food handling in India that we have in European countries. This applies right across a whole range of eating places from simple dhabas to five star hotels. I know someone who suffered from serious food poisoning after eating in a world famous hotel in Udaipur.

Normally I'm a meat eater and have been a bit casual about eating meat in India in the past but after our last trip when we both picked up two bugs, one definitely associated with eating meat, we'll be a bit more careful next time and may even stick to a completely vegetarian diet.

As a general rule try to eat in places that look busy and that the locals use.

Possibly even more important is to be careful about water and ice. I won't go into this here as it's been covered in other threads of the "food and health" section.

Although we haven't spent much time in Goa over the years I would guess it's a safer place to eat than some other parts of India.

steven_ber

A little common sense is needed in India too, we went for a steak in an expensive steak restaurant in Bangalore, when asked “how would you like your steak cooked sir” my friend said “rare please”, it took 3 days to get over that. (A little hint, a few hours after the meal my friend thought he wanted to be sick, but managed not to be, he could have saved himself a lot of trouble if he had just been sick)

I found about 60 % of ‘first timers’ to India got a little bit of ‘Delhi belly’ , when I asked about the type of ‘Indian’ food they ate in their home countries the finding were amazing.

Almost all the people who got ‘Delhi belly’ ate at the ‘200 meals on the menu’ type of place where you never see an Asian person eat.

The rest were used to the ‘kebab shop ’ type of place where you wouldn’t take your Mum, maybe only 30 things on the menu, but all of them pre-cooked the proper way then re-heated to order, these places are mostly frequented by Asians. (If they give you a jug of water when you sit down, then you have to ask for a folk then they bring you a spoon, you know you are in the right kind of place) see photo below.

Water, is another issue, and can be the main contributor to ‘Delhi belly’ if you are not careful.

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picklepak

While I spent most of my time in India as a vegetarian, at the end of a long trip I did eat some (rather delicious) beef in Goa -- a steak, and a couple of hamburgers. Just because I could! And I'd been missing the delicious dried beef jerky & sauce I'd found in Laos (sim savon lae jeo bong?).

I even fed a little bit of the burger to the dog in the restaurant (only because I was full -- really, it was delicious), and then someone asked me if I was sure that's okay, considering how most Indians view beef... I replied by saying it's okay, I don't think the dog is Hindu and the dog definitely wanted more of it too.

By the way, most of my Hindu friends here in Canada eat beef periodically, yet they still pray to their god everyday.

I'd echo everyone's comments above, and I do agree that you should be careful about when/where you eat meat in India. I got food poisoning in South Delhi at a very expensive Westernized pizza place... and then a few days later drank a couple litres of Delhi well-water by mistake and got even more sick. Goa and other parts of southern India are pretty good with meat, you'll see "non-veg" restaurant signs everywhere. In parts of Kerala you can even order beef. If it's a busy restaurant with a limited menu, things will probably be fine.

fat freddy's cat

We had a meal in Bombay one night in a small bazaar just down the road from the ymca.The place was tiny but we had the most amazing feed.I'm not too sure what it was as nobody spoke any english but it was amazing.In Goa after about 2 weeks i ate plain spaghetti with tomatoes and had awful food poisoning!Thems the breaks eh?!

cyberhippie

During my ambles around the Sub-Continent I have never paid to much attention as to what I ate in terms of is it a non-veg or veg. I try to concentrate on when I eat and where.
If you frequent the local hole in the wall dhabas it’s better to eat at the times when the food is prepared early morning, mid-day and early evening. If you eat at these times there is a better chance that the food hasn’t been lying around in a semi-hot pan for hours!
Also as the poster above says be careful of the “Tourist Restaurants” with a menu that looks like a volume of War and Peace. In their efforts to please some of these places go completely over the top with their menu cards. The result is produce lying in fridges for way too long (the profit margins of these places is so small they are loath to throw anything away)
Look for restaurants that have small compact menus (the kitchen boy disappearing at regular intervals for eggs, chicken, carrots, flour etc is a good sign, try to curb your impatience!!) and once you’ve found a good dhaba or restaurant stick with it if you don’t get sick the first time around the chances are you won’t in the future either.
I personally don’t think that avoiding meat is a recipe for success when trying to avoid Gandhi’s revenge. I have eaten red meat, chicken and even pork in Goa without any problem at all. In fact the only time I’ve been really sick was from curd of all things!!
The possibilities of catching something are so numerous you would have to be Gandhi to avoid them all, dirty utensils, precooked food, well water sold as mineral water its better just to get on with it and not dwell to long on these things!!
My wife regularly gets sick while we’re in India and it has always without fail been from a vegetable dish! This kind of laid the whole argument to rest for me. I really feel that the advice about avoiding meat is more of a vegetarian stand point than anything else!!
Ok if you get sick from a meat dish chances are that you will feel a lot worse but don’t let that deter you from trying some of the wonderful meat dishes available in India!!
Sadly for many people getting sick is all part of the “India experience” try not to worry about this though it’s usually low level diarrhea easily treatable and if you get something worse, well look on the bright side who better qualified to treat your symptoms than an Indian doctor who sees this every day of his working life!!

SitaParityaga

Just check out the local meat shops once you get into town. What you see is what you'll be getting, no matter how many stars your hotel has. I avoided meat, for the most part, because it does increase your chances of food related stomach problems. I just balanced the risk by checking out how the food was being prepared, kept hot, etc. India is such a wonderful place to eat vegetarian. Even though I'm carniverous, I found my self gravitating towards the veg. Follow your own best common sense and you're likely to survive!

piglet

wow you guys are incredible! I never fail to be amazed by the help and support I am getting here! Now I am just waiting for my tickets!!!!!!!!!!!!

LaContessa

Hello everyone.

Well I avoid the meat in India - it was after my exboyfriend got very poisoned from eating mutton, seeing him that ill was enough for me. And also watching the chickens and pigs eating human poos out of the open sewers clinched the deal, infact I even stopped eating the eggs.

However, when by the seaside I always eat the fresh fish and seafood, lovely.


I'll eat out of roadside food stalls and dhabas but like to see the food being cooked, generally it's like everyone above has said, use common sense and you should be alright.

Water is a little more of a problem and having got dysentry from Indian water I don't think you can emphasise how cautious you should be. However, and I will probably be screamed down and told I am stupid and irresponsible for doing this, I do clean my teeth with the tap water but ensure I don't swallow much of it. Someone once suggested that if you do this then you can build up an immunity, how true this is I don't know. But I have done this with no ill effects around India, North Africa, Asia and Latin America.

maree

LaContessa... I'm with you on the brushing teeth with tap water thing and it hasn't made me sick (yet).

chrissawka

i think it depends on the individual and their system and how fussy they are
i never ate meat till in Munnar and after that i ate beef curry til i flew home
ironic as well that the place i first ate meat in india was an open to the air kinda rest. with tables in rows and everyone eating of tin plates that were served still containing water droplets in them<someone out there ate at this place or remember it...i am sure?!>
i think my beef curry ,3 parrotta's,and a fried chicken leg came to 36 rps,so this was real low budget<i was only tourist eating there,rest all locals>.yet it tasted awesome and never got me sick
it shook my fear of eating meat in india and i am glad i did.

i think eating the food<all of it> is a big part of travelling<whithin reason> and if u r meant to get sick..u will
can't change yer fate..you can only delay it!
i have lengthly but humourous story bout fate and food piosoning while in morrocco 2 yrs ago

long story short......... met this couple that ate vendor food for 3 days then decided to splurge and eat in air con.'d rest with fancy inside decorating and nice painted walls.
they said it cost them more for that one meal than they had spent in previous 2 days on food and later that night the guy was vomiting and sick for 2 days
huh ironic how the low budget street vendor food was o.k. but he got sick from the fancy and expensive rest.
that is a true story met the couple and travelled on same bus as them

__________________
enjoyed 6 weeks in southern india and saving up to go back..
i never hated.....yet loved<more>a country soo much
words cannot truely describe the satisfaction it gives u

LaContessa

That story is similar to my experience in Egypt, I was eating at all the cheap local restaurants and everyone in hotel was eating in hotel dining room, the whole hotel came down with a violent stomach bug except me!