When you are travelling outside your city or country, then you may need to drink food at restaurants or cafes on a regular basis. This can often lead to food poisoning, especially if you eat out at street joints or consume food which is not cooked using fresh produce.
Lack of hygiene standards while cooking can also be the cause of low quality food that may cause stomach troubles. This is why, it is very important to know ways to avoid food poisoning when travelling. The following are some tips and suggestions regarding the same.
1. Eat Out only at Food Outlets that are Popular and Reputed
It is important not to eat at just any place and always ensure that the restaurant or joint has a good reputation. To find whether the reputation is good or not, you can check out online reviews, ask travel agents, take suggestions from friends who live in the area. Also, try to eat in busy eateries as they generally serve fresh quality foods.
2. Avoid Eating Street Food
Unless you have heard impeccable reviews of particular street vendors, don’t experiment with eating street food at a foreign location as that may not be cooked using proper hygiene steps. Street food may not be cooked in filtered water and may thus cause problems.
3. Drink only Packaged Water
Often, in pursuit to save money, we tend to drink tap water when travelling out. It is best to stick to packaged mineral water or filtered water. If you are going out on a short trip, then make it a point to carry your own water in one or two bottles.
4. Take Home Cooked Food
If you are heading out for a short trip, then you can take home cooked food with you or semi-cooked foods that you can cook in the microwave wherever you are going. You can pack packaged food items which you have tried out before and cook them in hot water in your hotel room.
5. Opt for Raw Food that can be Peeled or Order Hot Food
If you need to eat out at restaurants or eateries, then it is best to stick to raw foods that can be peeled like fruits or hot food since the chances of bacteria surviving in hot foods are minimum.
6. Avoid Eating Seafood or Raw Dairy Products
When you are travelling outside, then you must refrain from eating seafood as it may not be fresh or free of harmful toxins. Also, avoid opting for raw dairy products as they may be contain bacteria that can cause food poisoning.
7. Wash your Hands Thoroughly Before Eating Anything
When we are travelling, it is easy to pick up bacteria and germs since we are out most days and tend to touch many dirty things. Thus it is important to wash hands thoroughly before each meals or carry hand sanitizers which help to kill germs.
The above given tips will help you to avoid food poisoning while travelling but in case if you get any type of infection it is best to consult a doctor and start the treatment as soon as possible.
