Dear friends,
This is especially for those of you who have been poisoned in fast food joints or from street stands. It's also for people who may need to eat out a lot because of travel or work. A street stand where you see the food prepared before your
eyes can be safer than a fast food restaurant where you don't see preparation.
Once I got food poisoning at a fast food chain restaurant while travelling in the USA, so it doesn't only happen in China or Mexico, it can happen anywhere. It
can happen at home and in fine restaurants, too. Usually in good restaurants the people have been trained how to safely handle food and there is stricter supervision. No such place wants to damage its reputation.
My mistake in that fast food chain restaurant was ordering turkey with gravy after Christmas. Probably it had been in their refrigerator for at least three days
or longer as Christmas food is often served well in advance of Christmas. Even
if it was fresh on the 24th or 25th, I ordered my meal on the 27th. The gravy
tasted a little odd, but I was hungry, and didn't think. I became very ill, with chills, fever, vomiting, loose bowels and great weakness. It passed in three
days but spoiled that part of our vacation. Some food contamination infections are deadly so we who have had food poisoning and are here to write about it, are
the lucky ones!
Don't buy anything that may have been held from an earlier day. Try to buy whereeverything looks very clean. Check the washrooms. It they aren't very clean it's not likely that the kitchen will be clean, either. Don't eat in a place with dirty washrooms.
The person who picks up your food should not touch it with uncovered fingers. They should use tongs or gloves on their hands, so that they can't contaminate your food. Some people don't wash well after using the toilet. Others have no place to wash. Therefore they can pass illness to you. Be careful of anybody whohandles money and also handles food without special gloves to protect the food
from contamination.
Be sure that fast food on display is protected from the coughs and sneezesof onlookers.
Buy food that is freshly cooked, preferably right before your eyes. Ask that your food be well-done. Don't eat under-cooked meat, fish, other seafoods and eggs. Don't eat any food that is only warm, when it should be very hot.
If you must eat out and have doubts about your safety it is possible to buy your
own fruit and canned vegetables. Wash the fruit before you eat it. Eat the vegetables from the can. Don't eat salad greens except at home where you can wash
them well. The same goes for prepared fruits. You can safely eat fruit that you can peel yourself if you wash it first, are sure that your own hands are clean
and so is the knife you use. If fruit is bruised or has a little hole in it, be sure to cut out that part, because disease organisms may be there.
Don't take ice in your drinks. Drink from a bottle that you see opened before your eyes and that you are sure still has its original bottle cap in place. Somepeople refill bottles. You can also drink anything made from boiling water, such as tea. I don't think you use dairy products. If you do, then you need to be
sure that they have been kept clean and chilled.
As soon as you arrive home from outside, the first thing is to always thoroughly
wash your hands. This will help to ensure tfhat you don't any kind of contamination organisms with you.
These are some tips from our travels. I hope they help. :-)
Friendly good wishes, Mary
