Food Safety

[Ajarn]

Another point is it does not matter how fresh the food is,if basic hygiene is not carried out people will get sick.That could be the reason why the more expensive places are a risk,simply there are more persons handling your food

It is down to education of the food handler,firstly, I wonder how many don't wash their hands after going to the toilet.

Mixing raw and cooked food on the same preparation table,dirty wipe down clothes ,touching nose or hair,improper pest controls in the food area,not reheating food to a save temperature.

Since I've been  coming to Thailand the worst for me was raw oysters,I only eat one and was very sick,now just the smell of one makes me feel sick.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Since I've been  coming to Thailand the worst for me was raw oysters,I only eat one and was very sick,now just the smell of one makes me feel sick.

Yep. could've been from someone 'touching' their nose big time! They sure taste like boogers....right??

[stroll]

Had the shits a couple of times in 6 years, nothing more. Use common sense, if you can see the food being prepared, you'll know to judge. Don't order laap dip (raw meat) unless the place is popular with the locals. Ordering 'unusual' western dishes is potentialy unsafe(mayonnaise, sauces), budget or upmarket same same. Otherwise: no ploblem, up to you.

[RDN]

.....What's the average lifespan in Thailand ?Is it shorter than in the US? ....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

US 48th, UK 36th, Thai 109th.

From nationMaster

1. Andorra 83.49 years

2. Macau 81.87 years

3. San Marino 81.43 years

4. Japan 80.93 years

5. Singapore 80.42 years

6. Australia 80.13 years

7. Guernsey 80.04 years

8. Switzerland 79.99 years

9. Sweden 79.97 years

10. Hong Kong 79.93 years

11. Canada 79.83 years

12. Iceland 79.8 years

13. Cayman Islands 79.67 years

14. Italy 79.4 years

15. Gibraltar 79.38 years

16. France 79.28 years

17. Monaco 79.27 years

18. Liechtenstein 79.25 years

19. Spain 79.23 years

20. Norway 79.09 years

21. Israel 79.02 years

22. Jersey 78.93 years

23. Faroe Islands 78.9 years

24. Greece 78.89 years

25. Aruba 78.83 years

26. Netherlands 78.74 years

27. Martinique 78.72 years

28. Virgin Islands 78.59 years

29. Malta 78.43 years

30. Germany 78.42 years

31. Montserrat 78.36 years

32. New Zealand 78.32 years

33. Belgium 78.29 years

34. Guam 78.27 years

35. Austria 78.17 years

36. United Kingdom 78.16 years

37. Saint Pierre and Miquelon 78.11 years

38. Man, Isle of 77.98 years

39. Finland 77.92 years

40. Jordan 77.88 years

41. Luxembourg 77.66 years

42. Guadeloupe 77.53 years

43. Bermuda 77.41 years

44. Saint Helena 77.38 years

45. Ireland 77.35 years

46. Cyprus 77.27 years

47. Puerto Rico 77.26 years

48. United States 77.14 years

49. Denmark 77.1 years

50. Taiwan 76.87 years

51. Cuba 76.8 years

52. Anguilla 76.7 years

53. French Guiana 76.69 years

54. Kuwait 76.65 years

55. Costa Rica 76.43 years

56. Portugal 76.35 years

57. Chile 76.35 years

58. Northern Mariana Islands 76.16 years

59. Libya 76.07 years

60. British Virgin Islands 76.06 years

61. Uruguay 75.87 years

62. Jamaica 75.85 years

63. American Samoa 75.75 years

64. Slovenia 75.51 years

65. Argentina 75.48 years

66. French Polynesia 75.45 years

67. Netherlands Antilles 75.38 years

68. Korea, South 75.36 years

69. Czech Republic 75.18 years

70. United Arab Emirates 74.75 years

71. Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of 74.49 years

72. Slovakia 74.43 years

73. Tunisia 74.4 years

74. Paraguay 74.4 years

75. Croatia 74.37 years

76. Brunei 74.3 years

77. Dominica 74.12 years

78. Turks and Caicos Islands 74 years

79. Serbia and Montenegro 73.97 years

80. Poland 73.91 years

81. Venezuela 73.81 years

82. Bahrain 73.72 years

83. New Caledonia 73.52 years

84. Reunion 73.43 years

85. Qatar 73.14 years

86. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 73.08 years

87. Saint Lucia 73.08 years

88. West Bank 72.68 years

89. Sri Lanka 72.62 years

90. Oman 72.58 years

91. Albania 72.37 years

92. Panama 72.32 years

93. Mexico 72.3 years

94. Bosnia and Herzegovina 72.29 years

95. China 72.22 years

96. Hungary 72.17 years

97. Solomon Islands 72.1 years

98. Lebanon 72.07 years

99. Ecuador 71.89 years

100. Barbados 71.84 years

101. Mauritius 71.8 years

102. Turkey 71.8 years

103. Bulgaria 71.8 years

104. Malaysia 71.67 years

105. Saint Kitts and Nevis 71.57 years

106. Gaza Strip 71.4 years

107. Antigua and Barbuda 71.31 years

108. Seychelles 71.25 years

109. Thailand 71.24 years

110. Colombia 71.14 years

111. Brazil 71.13 years

112. Peru 70.88 years

113. Korea, North 70.79 years

114. El Salvador 70.62 years

115. Romania 70.62 years

116. Algeria 70.54 years

117. Egypt 70.41 years

118. Estonia 70.31 years

119. Samoa 70.11 years

120. Vietnam 70.05 years

121. Morocco 70.04 years

122. Cape Verde 69.83 years

123. Nicaragua 69.68 years

124. Lithuania 69.6 years

125. Trinidad and Tobago 69.59 years

126. Palau 69.5 years

127. Syria 69.39 years

128. Marshall Islands 69.39 years

129. Iran 69.35 years

130. Latvia 69.31 years

131. Philippines 69.29 years

132. Suriname 69.23 years

133. Micronesia, Federated States of 69.13 years

134. Greenland 69 years

135. Indonesia 68.94 years

136. Fiji 68.88 years

137. Tonga 68.88 years

138. Saudi Arabia 68.73 years

139. Belarus 68.43 years

140. Dominican Republic 67.96 years

141. Iraq 67.81 years

142. Russia 67.66 years

143. Belize 67.36 years

144. Tuvalu 67.32 years

145. Armenia 66.68 years

146. Honduras 66.65 years

147. Ukraine 66.5 years

148. Sao Tome and Principe 66.28 years

149. Bahamas, The 65.71 years

150. Guatemala 65.23 years

151. East Timor 65.2 years

152. Moldova 64.88 years

153. Bolivia 64.78 years

154. Georgia 64.76 years

155. Grenada 64.52 years

156. Tajikistan 64.37 years

157. Papua New Guinea 64.19 years

158. Uzbekistan 64 years

159. Mongolia 63.81 years

160. Kyrgyzstan 63.66 years

161. India 63.62 years

162. Kazakhstan 63.48 years

163. Maldives 63.3 years

164. Azerbaijan 63.16 years

165. Guyana 63.09 years

166. Pakistan 62.2 years

167. Nauru 61.95 years

168. Vanuatu 61.71 years

169. Bangladesh 61.33 years

170. Turkmenistan 61.19 years

171. Comoros 61.18 years

172. Yemen 60.97 years

173. Kiribati 60.93 years

174. Mayotte 60.6 years

175. Nepal 59 years

176. Cambodia 57.92 years

177. Sudan 57.73 years

178. Gabon 57.12 years

179. Ghana 56.53 years

180. Senegal 56.37 years

181. Madagascar 56.14 years

182. Burma 55.79 years

183. Equatorial Guinea 54.75 years

184. Gambia, The 54.38 years

185. Laos 54.3 years

186. Bhutan 53.58 years

187. Togo 53.43 years

188. Eritrea 53.18 years

189. Mauritania 51.93 years

190. Haiti 51.61 years

191. Benin 51.08 years

192. Nigeria 51.01 years

193. Congo, Republic of the 50.02 years

194. Guinea 49.54 years

195. Congo, Democratic Republic of the 48.93 years

196. Chad 48.51 years

197. Liberia 48.15 years

198. Cameroon 48.05 years

199. Somalia 47.34 years

200. Guinea-Bissau 46.97 years

201. Afghanistan 46.97 years

202. South Africa 46.56 years

203. Mali 45.43 years

204. Kenya 45.22 years

205. Uganda 44.88 years

206. Tanzania 44.56 years

207. Burkina Faso 44.46 years

208. Burundi 43.2 years

209. Djibouti 43.13 years

210. Sierra Leone 42.84 years

211. Namibia 42.77 years

212. Cote d'Ivoire 42.65 years

213. Niger 42.21 years

214. Central African Republic 41.71 years

215. Ethiopia 41.24 years

216. Swaziland 39.47 years

217. Rwanda 39.33 years

218. Zimbabwe 39.01 years

219. Malawi 37.98 years

220. Angola 36.96 years

221. Lesotho 36.94 years

222. Zambia 35.25 years

223. Botswana 32.26 years

224. Mozambique 31.3 years

[Thaiboxer]

I've been travelling here since 1999 and my Thai wife and I have lived here now for two years. During this time I've only been sick twice....runs, nausea, fever and general weakness...nothing serious. As one poster mentioned, the antibiotics doctors give you are quite strong and I remember my illnesses subsiding in less than two days. I agree that street vendors have an advantage over restaurants in that their customers can observe the entire preparation/cooking process with one or two folks handling the food. Funny thing is, most of the open air/vendor cart establishments look crude and dirty compared to places in the west but then again Thais are generally hygenic when preparing/cooking food.

As far as Fuji is concerned, we've eaten there on several occassions and have had no ill effects. My wife and mother-in-law once tried Gengki Sushi (spelling?), a relatively new Japanese food chain in the malls and, and were served food that was obviously rotten. Word of mouth about what/where to avoid coupled with careful judgement is the best defense I think but then again what makes one person sick may have no effect on another person.

[RDN]

..... what makes one person sick may have no effect on another person.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I was on holiday in Italy a long time ago and had some ice cream from a street vendor. I was told never to eat that stuff as it would make me ill, and it did. Had the runs for days. But the Italians eat it all the time, no problems. So I too think it depends on what your body is used to.

[phormio]

Thanks for that RDN - US 77 years Thai 71 yrs, may not be the food quality though. My (Thai)wife's classmate from college sister had a severe case of cancer. As Ajarn said a few posts back, its the stuff that you don't know about that doesn't cause an immediate acute effect that's really scary. My wife said that many of the people that she nows have friends or family members with cancer and that cancer is the leading cause of death in Thailand. Makes it reasonable to geuss that environmental factors like chemical contamination of the water and food supplies might be the primary culprit. Doesn't look like the Thai govt. is paying serious attention to this.