Safe drinks?

hfot2

The travel books all say don't be paranoid about the food or drink and then give loads of advice about what to avoid. Why is it that food/drink in India gets such bad press - moreso than elsewhere. Do we hear of Delhi-belly because it's fun to say, whilst Beijing-belly is not?

I've read all about drinking water. I'll follow the same rules I do in China and SE Asia. Thanks to all who replied to water questions here. [I know I have to skip lassi because of the untrustworthy ice - but I hate the idea]

What about milk? Lonely Planet says it's OK if boiled, otherwise it's possibly/probably not pasteurized. Is the milk in tea boiled? Do hotels boil their milk as a rule?

Fruit juice? The texts all talk about peeling your own fruit if you plan to eat it. Blenders for fruit drinks are described as havens for bacteria.

Help...

rockyS

well it is best to go for things in tetra packs if u scared of trying things out as far as water go for mineral water bottles and well milk in hotels it depends where u staying , most low buget hotels generally skim on all that to save money so u have to be careful.

kokopelli

hey.. stop being paranoid..

drink water from bottle, drink chai on the street, like the indians do.

don't count on it.

__________________
my old photo gallery | houseboats in Kashmir

charlotte

Don't eat from a "buffet" style meal which looks like it has been kept only warm for a while. Has it a "skin" on it?
Personally if I see it cooked infront of me (as in street food) and it is well cooked then I eat it.
The reason for Delhi belly is dirt - we were going to eat in a restaurant in Jaipur until we saw the colour of the cloth the kitchen worker was using to wipe the plates - I wouldn't have wiped the floor with it.
The worst was an Ashok 4* (Indian Government run) hotel where one of the staff serving the buffet looked like he was the gardener - apron covered in dirt and standing behind the table with a dirty tin of ice-cream with a rusty spoon - suprised nobody accepted it!!!
We were in a group on a tour staying in 5* hotels and 2 of the group had Salmonella poisoning after 2 days and a further one got it 10 days later.
Having said that I do eat from street stalls - cooked not raw food and eat in shacks in Goa where I should know better as they have no hot water except if they boil it on the stove and when they are busy I know the plates only get a quick dip.

Ikuru

Please DONT worry.
I dont see what all the fear is about.
YOU HAVE to drink LASSI, for GODS SAKE! Its what you drink in INdia (is there ice in lassie? I never noticed any of that....)!
That AND Chai (it is Boiled together! Sugar/water/Milk/and spices, thats what CHAI IS!)
And fruit JUICE ofcourse (allthough here you might keep an Eye on some cheap places, not to get water in it)
At the end of the day, its NO BIG DEAL! So what If you get some germ? It will not kill you! I had a couple from three month in india on my first trip, I got home and ate some pills and washed them out. Than I travelled for 6 months and had Nothing. It all depends, drink minerall water.

This "SAFE" buisness, is making people worry allot, I rather die from something than spend my life in fear really.

__________________
http://www.ikuru.se My art.

charlotte

"So it is no big deal to get a germ" - what a silly thing to say if you have not had first hand experience of it. In my previous post the young man who had a stomach illness on his almost last day in India spent 3 months in hospital in the UK on his return - which was 1 month after he should have gone home. He has spent the last 4 years away from a job he loved because he does not have the energy to pursue it and his family has suffered because he is so depressed about life in general. He is no longer able to travel - which used to be his passion in life so it is no big deal is it?
As far as fruit juice goes - leave some of the last persons fruit in there and keep adding to it all day without washing it out - please - India is the land of sunshine - which multiplies the germs.
I have been involved in catering for all my working life and know how these things happen - it is not hard. Maybe you should read some books or even the internet and see how easy it is to get these "no big deal germs" you thinks are so harmless.

Ikuru

If you had read my post it say that I DID get germs, I got home with Gardia and some other kind of worm too, and it was no big deal for me, I was happy anyways, and I did not know the germs was there untill the doctor told me.

Im not gonne stop drinking chais and lassis and juices. Germ or no germ, sure people get sick, people die too, but thats life.

charlotte

At the end of the day, its NO BIG DEAL! So what If you get some germ? It will not kill you!


Is what you said and I replied to that statement - it can kill you and it is a big deal.
If it doesn't kill you it can turn you life upside down and make it hell. You had the germ and didn't know about it - lucky or what? He did know about it and has done for the last 4 years.

TracyB

I know, I am starting to get paranoid..Almost everything I read says don't eat that, don't drink that, don't go there, don't wear this, don't stay there!! Beware of this and that and everything else. I am begining to wonder what you can do in India..I love Chai..I drink it all of the time at home..But if the milk is not pasturized, they recommend not to drink it!! And I really don't want to get sick..

But I guess I will do what I did in Egypt..Only bottled water, no raw veggies, only fruit and veggies you can peel and hope for the best..

But is India that bad?

Baldy

Tracey [list]
ignore the doomsayers, hundreds of thousands have visited Inida without anything but a temporary stomach upset. Don't let your travel dreams be tainted by unwarranted fears.

Use your eyes and ears and apply commonsense. Wash hands before eating, and when convenient during the day. An anti-bacterial soap such as Dettol or wipes are good. Don't drink tap water, in fact any water not from a new bottle.

Don't eat food that looks or smells doubtful - trust your instincts, if unsure discard it. If you are ill or have the shits for more than a few days, see a doctor. Some bugs have to run their course, but if prescribed antibiotics follow the full course.

If viral or parasitic these can usually be treated too.

Most important - if travellling alone and sick or afraid, don't hesitate to ask for help from fellow travellers. They will be glad to help.

Baldy

TracyB

I know baldy, you are absolutely right...now I just have to convince myself..I think I am reading too much..In the olden days I would not read anything before we travelled...Just showed up and dealt with things as they came up

And actually, myself and my husband are travelling with a group of 15, but I do hope to do some venturing on our own!!

Thanks for your positive response, I feel better already!

cyberhippie

Charlotte whilst I agree that getting a bug is most certainly a big deal the crux of the situation is how to avoid getting them. Certainly avoiding certain food groups won't do it, or judging a place by how it looks won't keep you safe from germs even using your common sense won't always cut it, there are just too many variables as you will know working in the catering industry yourself. I reckon if you ate food every day from unknown restaurants in Europe over an extended period of time you would probably catch something along the way.
(I'm thinking of the Gordon Ramsey series here!)
So whilst I agree with you on being careful there is no point in carrying this too far to the point of paranoia, ikuru is making a valid point here, if being able to succesfully avoid germs is niegh on impossible, surely it's better just get on with life. You say your friend was an experienced traveler yet he still got caught out, I'm sure he was careful but it's proof that avoiding some things in life are unavoidable.
After 13 trips I can report that I have also been lucky!! A few minor bouts of the runs is all I've experienced!! I eat pretty much anything but like you tend to frequent places where the food is cooked in front of me. Maybe I will come unstuck one day but I won't be hard on the way I travel if I do, I'll just put it down to bad luck!!
Having said all that "the cloth" really is digusting in some places but I won't go into that

Digital Drifter

whilst I can't comment on the food aspect, with respect to milk, here's my take. At least down south, people boil milk at least once, even if it came in government supplied Amul/Nandini/Aavin sachets, which are pastuerised. Milk, *is always* boiled at least once in the morning in every household or shop; the shops always have enough hot watery milk for everyone. :-)

More likely cause for concern is the unclean cups used to drink the tea/coffee. What I usually do, is ask the chai wallah to rinse the cup with hot water from the tea/milk boiler; he usually obliges.

Here's a marketing anecdote.

Kellog's been in India for a while now. Now, people are open to cornflakes here but they keep using hot milk for the flakes; which makes the flakes go soggy so fast that the crunchiness is lost. Kellog wants people to use cold milk which is anathema to people, who if ever, rarely use it cold.

Net Result: Sales stagnate and people end up being 1 time buyers. Even now, people buy kellog for the novelty, figure out after the first cereal breakfast it's just goddamn corn(even if it says so on the box) for which they've paid Rs 50/ for a 250g box. With this -ve experience, is it any wonder that people stop buying kellogs and/or switch to a local producer who'll give 3 kgs of the flakes for the same price?



cheers,
Digital drifter

vistet

The milk is added when brewing the tea, so I´ve always regarded it as safe (it wont bring down the temperature noticeably).
If you want to be extra safe you can wait for a minute before drinking.

hfot2

But brewing occurs after the water has been boiled - the milk itself isn't boiled?