How do I know if it's safe to eat street food?

[basvdelsen]

I don't wanna get parasites or something

[Ulysses G.]

You don't, but it is and you won't get parasites.

[RubbaJohnny]

There ca be no certinty in life

I have been eating Thai street food for 2 millenia

Advatages you can choose see the ingredients

Most is cooked in Boiling water (noodles)

or fried in Boiling fat fried rice etc Moo Yang BBQ

Also you if you see locals ofice workers esp who have ltd time and money eating at a bust clean cart a good sign

Also you can see the personal hygiene of the vendor.

Many western outbreaks are from non fresh food

If you have allergies to gluten sugar etc need to be careful and Thai chillis are optional

Say Maame Prik if you prefer without

Vegetarian food removes many of the risks of trichinosis,seafood and fish hazards

The worst food we had and all 4 were vomiting in the restaurant was in much controlled Florida

Bon Appetit

[lomatopo]

This has been a popular question, as you can imagine, here over the years. And I;m not sure there is any universally "correct" answer.

I doubt there is a very high probability of contracting parasites. I think the worst case scenario is one of mild intestinal distress, e.g salmonella from under-cooked eggs, which is a fairly common ailment for foreigners and Thais alike. But this might only occur once in every 20 or 30 or 40 "meals".

Are you generally sensitive to food items? Preparations? Do you have allergies?

There are many, many, many indoor food courts which along with having air con, might offer a higher degree of cleanliness for food, prep and serving/dining utensils. But then you miss things like car exhaust, heat, dogs peeing near the pots/pans, cook mining their nose for nuggets, etc.

[ThaidDown]

If there is a group of street stalls selling similar types of food and you have not experienced any of them before then go to the most crowded one. Even if you have to wait for a chair, do not think 'that stall has no one waiting I'll get served quicker there'. The Thais know which stalls are best from experience.

That thinking has usually served us well.

[hanno]

Agreed, this works all over the world. Go for stalls, restaurants, etc. that are busy with locals. Not a 100% but in 20 years in Asia I never had anything worse than the trots. I do take a deworming tablet every 6 moths as I like the raw herbs and salads.

[basvdelsen]

Good advice, thanks.

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

Vegetarian food removes many of the risks of trichinosis,seafood and fish hazards

Agreed. But I wouldn't trust any sign or menu that says vegetarian food. Thais don't really understand the concept, which is broth wholly made from vegetable sources with tofu or other TVP as protein. Witness the 7-11 "vegetarian" Hong Kong noodle take-home meal that has ham in it. Or "vegetable" dishes that have bits of pork or shrimp in them. Surprise surprise.

[tw25rw]

Eat at places where locals eat. Don't eat at places that aren't popular.

[impulse]

Some good advice here, but watch out for the Thai salads where they use uncooked, crushed up crab and other sea critters. (Not at all specific to street food, BTW)

They can harbor parasites you won't detect for years as they eat away at your liver and eventually cause liver cancer.

A disease (and cause), BTW, that's endemic to many areas of Thailand- putting me off the "if the locals eat there, it's okay" mantra.

I love Thai street food, and eat a lot of it. But I'm very leery of the uncooked salads where they dose them with a dozen mystery sauces as they're preparing them.

On a related note, had a bunch of coworkers doing expat stints in Russia, and just about every one of them came back with liver flukes from poorly cooked fish in the camp where they stayed.

Edited May 12, 2014 by impulse

[Thainess]

Agreed, this works all over the world. Go for stalls, restaurants, etc. that are busy with locals. Not a 100% but in 20 years in Asia I never had anything worse than the trots. I do take a deworming tablet every 6 moths as I like the raw herbs and salads.

Seriously, you can catch worms from raw herbs and salads? That's a new one to me! I knew you could get worms from meat and fish, especially if undercooked, but herbs? How are there worms on herbs?

[Diplomatico]

Agreed, this works all over the world. Go for stalls, restaurants, etc. that are busy with locals. Not a 100% but in 20 years in Asia I never had anything worse than the trots. I do take a deworming tablet every 6 moths as I like the raw herbs and salads.

Seriously, you can catch worms from raw herbs and salads? That's a new one to me! I knew you could get worms from meat and fish, especially if undercooked, but herbs? How are there worms on herbs?

I don't think so. From webmd.com: "Eating undercooked meat from infected animals is the main cause of tapeworm infection in humans." Although: "It is also possible to contract pork tapeworms from foods prepared by an infected person. Because tapeworm eggs are passed with bowel movements, a person who doesn't wash hands well after wiping and then prepares food can contaminate the food."

Nothing about getting worms from eating raw herbs/salads. Reference: http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/tapeworms-in-humans

[scoutman360]

Stay way from raw, uncooked foods. Or salad dressings with mayonnaise. Eat freshly cooked meat. Don't eat from the stacks of chicken sitting on the side with flies all over it. And, not from the lady wiping her nose with her hands as she de-husks the corn. I don't eat street food very much, but I've never been sick from it. However, I have been sick from some very popular restaurants in Thailand.

[hanno]

Agreed, this works all over the world. Go for stalls, restaurants, etc. that are busy with locals. Not a 100% but in 20 years in Asia I never had anything worse than the trots. I do take a deworming tablet every 6 moths as I like the raw herbs and salads.

Seriously, you can catch worms from raw herbs and salads? That's a new one to me! I knew you could get worms from meat and fish, especially if undercooked, but herbs? How are there worms on herbs?

Worms lay their eggs on some raw produce.

http://nitawriter.wordpress.com/2008/03/28/tape-worms-in-your-vegetables/

http://www.livestrong.com/article/402790-intestinal-parasite-symptoms-caused-by-salads/

[lomatopo]

If there is a group of street stalls selling similar types of food and you have not experienced any of them before then go to the most crowded one. Even if you have to wait for a chair, do not think 'that stall has no one waiting I'll get served quicker there'. The Thais know which stalls are best from experience.

Restaurants are popular, and thus "crowded" for many reasons: cuisine, preparation, location (more foot traffic but higher rents), price. However I doubt that if you polled 100 Thais in a "popular" restaurant that anyone one would offer, "Well, I haven't gotten sick from eating here, yet" as a top ten reason for choosing said establishment. Obviously, more often than not, a "crowded" restaurant is indicative of the type/quality/price of the food on offer rather than the actual or perceived hygiene of the restaurant. There are many "weak links" in the hygiene "chain" from market to mouth, and if you ever seen a street vendor cleaning up after a shift, washing dishes/forks/spoons with street water and dogs lurking nearby hoping for a left-over, but still subject to the "call of nature", you'd understand that "popularity" does not necessarily portend hygiene.

[ClutchClark]

Agreed, this works all over the world. Go for stalls, restaurants, etc. that are busy with locals. Not a 100% but in 20 years in Asia I never had anything worse than the trots. I do take a deworming tablet every 6 moths as I like the raw herbs and salads.

Seriously, you can catch worms from raw herbs and salads? That's a new one to me! I knew you could get worms from meat and fish, especially if undercooked, but herbs? How are there worms on herbs?

I don't think so. From webmd.com: "Eating undercooked meat from infected animals is the main cause of tapeworm infection in humans." Although: "It is also possible to contract pork tapeworms from foods prepared by an infected person. Because tapeworm eggs are passed with bowel movements, a person who doesn't wash hands well after wiping and then prepares food can contaminate the food."

Nothing about getting worms from eating raw herbs/salads. Reference: http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/tapeworms-in-humans

In addition to poor personal hygiene is the obvious contamination of such herbs/salad products while still in the field in the form of animal and human excrement. Food carts often have limited access to fresh water and so wash large quantities of veggies in the same water. There is not so much of the more beneficial rinsing.

Additionally, for all these posters who love to brag about their Thainess that have been eating this way for decades, there is a fairly common practice for vendors (and more for their wholesale suppliers) to spray formaldehyde as a food preservative. It has been written up with some regularity in the press in the past couple years.

Thailand lacks the food quality standards and regulations of the western world. This includes the use of pesticides and herbicides and fungicides on agricultural products that are no longer allowed in the west. In other words, there are immediate concerns like the trots and then there are long term concerns that are not always recognized.

Bon appetit.

Edited May 13, 2014 by ClutchClark

[FireMedic]

Coming from a medic: You are usually better off with fried and boiled foods. Go where you see lots of Thai people. PLEASE be aware of bad or undercooked shell fish or mussels. Lettuce and veggies with skins (tomatoes) are usually the #1 reason for e-coli infections around the world. That being said, you are fine in most cases of food here. IF you get sick, it will most likely be from a contaminated water source and not food.

[oneday]

Eat it; if you don't get sick it was safe.

I don't believe in 5 years I have ever gotten sick from street food, but I'm certain their are vendor's carts that harbor many germs due to lack of cleaning. But I believe the odds are in your favor...go for it.

[overherebc]

Coming from a medic: You are usually better off with fried and boiled foods. Go where you see lots of Thai people. PLEASE be aware of bad or undercooked shell fish or mussels. Lettuce and veggies with skins (tomatoes) are usually the #1 reason for e-coli infections around the world. That being said, you are fine in most cases of food here. IF you get sick, it will most likely be from a contaminated water source and not food.

Heard that Giardia was quite common and can even be transferred in ice if what I'm told is true. !

[rtco]

Eat wherever and be damned. I got more bouts of food-poisoning back in the UK than I have ever got here. I eat street/market food regularly and whilst it looks dodgy it tastes great.

[malt25]

I have suffered a couple of cases of severe food poisoning... makes one wonder just how sick you have to be before you die.

My rule now. If they have water for washing dishes, it's a big start. If the food appears to have been cooked elsewhere, & brought to site, give it a very wide berth. If it's cooked while you wait you have little to worry about.

Just my opinion.

Mal.

[spidermike007]

If you were in west Africa, India, or Mexico, I would say avoid street food, especially if you have a delicate constitution. But, here in Thailand? The street food is both delicious and safe. Rather, seek it out! Your worries are basically unfounded. You probably have a better chance of getting food poisoning eating at a taco joint in Los Angeles, than you do street food here. The only thing to be careful about here is the seafood. Make sure it looks and smells fresh.

[FireMedic]

Coming from a medic: You are usually better off with fried and boiled foods. Go where you see lots of Thai people. PLEASE be aware of bad or undercooked shell fish or mussels. Lettuce and veggies with skins (tomatoes) are usually the #1 reason for e-coli infections around the world. That being said, you are fine in most cases of food here. IF you get sick, it will most likely be from a contaminated water source and not food.

Heard that Giardia was quite common and can even be transferred in ice if what I'm told is true. !

100% correct. In theory, there are many food and waterborne illnesses that can be transmitted in or ON ice. In most cases, it's the staff who hasn't washed their hands in a month grabbing an ice scooper and so on....... Other cases is because the actual ice machine has never been cleaned.

[SDM0712]

Stick to places where the food is cooked in front of you and you should be fine. Never eat food that has been standing. SDM

[bangarang]

There ca be no certinty in life

I have been eating Thai street food for 2 millenia

Advatages you can choose see the ingredients

Most is cooked in Boiling water (noodles)

or fried in Boiling fat fried rice etc Moo Yang BBQ

Also you if you see locals ofice workers esp who have ltd time and money eating at a bust clean cart a good sign

Also you can see the personal hygiene of the vendor.

Many western outbreaks are from non fresh food

If you have allergies to gluten sugar etc need to be careful and Thai chillis are optional

Say Maame Prik if you prefer without

Vegetarian food removes many of the risks of trichinosis,seafood and fish hazards

The worst food we had and all 4 were vomiting in the restaurant was in much controlled Florida

Bon Appetit

2 Millenia? I didnt realize we had the oldest man in the universe here.

[sandyf]

Stick to places where the food is cooked in front of you and you should be fine. Never eat food that has been standing. SDM

Best single tip. Also avoid chicken on the bone from street BBQ, usually undercooked and end up throwing it away.

[ClutchClark]

OP ,

If you are only worried about acute illness then you have received sufficient responses.

On the other hand , if you are worried about toxins and parasites in your food that may not manifest themselves for months then consider some of these articles:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/396653/food-vendors-criticised-over-formalin-use

Or this post from 2007:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/142497-deadly-formalin-in-food/

Or a nice article on flukes (worms) and even a reference to office workers:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/26/world/asia/26iht-thailand.html?_r=0

Or maybe a slightly older article on Trichinosis:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2716607/

So all these people here who say that they Thais eat this street vendor food without ever getting sick may not really have a good window into what is actually happening in the same way hospital reports do?

Edited May 13, 2014 by ClutchClark

[ggt]

Street food is amazingly good...cheap...and you get to meet some interesting Thai people...as opposed to going to a farang restaurant...it is also somewhat like playing Russian Roulette...at some point in time...your luck may run out...

[impulse]

OP ,

If you are only worried about acute illness then you have received sufficient responses.

On the other hand , if you are worried about toxins and parasites in your food that may not manifest themselves for months then consider some of these articles:

Thanks for that. Great info- because a night of the touristas is not what I worry about...it's the long term damage.

I also suggest reading Sheryl's posts here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/696787-liver-cancer-liver-fluke

The prevalence of liver fluke in Thailand overall is about 9%, but as high as 35% in some parts of the north and northeast. (Khon Kaen province has the highest rate in the country). Liver fluke is indeed a risk factor for cancer of the liver but not everyone with it will get cancer, in fact most do not.

In addition, liver fluke is not the only cause of liver cancer. High prevalence of Hepatitis B is also a major factor.

Prevention of liver fluke is not to eat raw fish/shellfish -- and fermented fish sauce/paste, a major culprit. The raw crabs put into som tham are also a big culprit.

What I take away from this thread, (and a search of the health forum for "worms" or "parasite") is to expect parasites, get checked out regularly, and let my health care provider know I've been in the tropics eating the indigenous foods. And enjoy street food, because it's probably no riskier.

Edited May 13, 2014 by impulse

[lvr181]

Never ever eat under cooked meat! Especially pork.