Travelling is all about new tastes, but some can turn your holiday upside down. Photo / 123rf
Christopher Elliott on when culinary adventures turn into nightmares.
Meg Wubbenhorst didn’t think twice before ordering a space cake at a coffee shop in Amsterdam recently. But maybe she should have. As she was about to discover, it was something she should never have eaten on vacation.
“I saw Anthony Bourdain eat one years ago and thought it’d be fun to try it,” she says. “But I’m not Anthony Bourdain.”
No, she isn’t. Wubbenhorst is an executive coach based in London. And in case you don’t know, a space cake is a famous cannabis-infused dessert.
“Instead of enjoying a local experience, I spent an uncomfortable six hours in my Airbnb in a heightened state, waiting for my brain to stop twitching,” she recalls.
Blame it on TV programmes like the one that shows adventurous hosts chowing down on deep-fried spiders in Bangkok’s Khao San Rd, but travellers are taking more risks when it comes to food.
“When you travel to a place that’s new to you, there are a lot of germs your body isn’t used to,” says Jeff Weinstein, medical operations manager at Global Rescue. “Something like a traveller’s diarrhoea or a bad case of food poisoning can quickly turn a dream holiday into a nightmare.”
So, what should you eat – and avoid – when you’re far from home? And what should you do if you eat something you shouldn’t have?
It’s true, travellers are getting more adventurous when it comes to food. From mopane worms in Zimbabwe to yak butter tea in Tibet, people are willing to try almost anything these days.
But not all culinary experiments end well.
Chahanler Marks ordered a deep-fried cricket from a Bangkok street vendor. “I’d heard they were a must-try,” says Marks, an IT specialist from Tennessee. “But I didn’t realise they’d been sitting out in the heat for hours.” Within a day, Marks was battling intense stomach pain that ruined the rest of his trip.
You don’t have to go far to get sick. Take Michael Conforti, a podcaster and self-proclaimed “nervous travelling eater”. On a trip from Atlanta to Albuquerque, he picked up a prepackaged airport sandwich. Halfway to his destination, he started to feel queasy.
“By the time I hit New Mexico, I was destroyed,” he says.
It even happened to me on a recent trip to Cape Town. My son ordered a falafel salad from a Lebanese restaurant. Hours later, he was lying in the emergency room at Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital. It turns out he was allergic to eggplant – what a terrible way to find out, right?
Experts agree: some foods are riskier than others when you’re travelling. Here’s what to avoid:
1. Raw or undercooked meat and seafood
Sushi, raw oysters and rare steaks can be dangerous, especially in hot climates or inland areas where seafood may not be fresh. “I don’t risk eating raw fish or shellfish while travelling,” says John Gobbels, chief operating officer of Medjet. “The chance of getting sick just isn’t worth it.”
2. Buffets
Buffets can be breeding grounds for bacteria. The worst I’ve seen are some of the famous Warungs in Indonesia, where the food sits at room temperature for hours. “Food sitting out at lukewarm temperatures is a red flag,” says Stephanie Smith, a food safety specialist at Washington State University.
3. Dairy in hot climates
Unpasteurised milk, soft cheeses and yogurt can spoil quickly in warm weather. “Be cautious of soft cheeses or dairy-based sauces in places without refrigeration,” says Bob Bacheler, managing director of Flying Angels, a medical transportation service.
4. Pre-cut fruit and salads
These items are often washed in local water, which can be contaminated. “Stick to fruits you can peel yourself,” says Jennie Norton, a registered dietitian nutritionist and vegan consultant. Who knew?
5. Street food
Chris Bajda learned that lesson when he ordered Som Tum Talay, a spicy seafood papaya salad, from a street vendor in Thailand. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t properly refrigerated,” says Bajda, who runs an e-commerce company in Monroe, Connecticut. “I ended up with a stomach bug that had me out of commission for a full day.” The takeaway: avoid improperly handled street food. Better yet, avoid street food altogether.
I admit, all of this great advice is often too late. How can you say “no” to the allure of space cake? Or resist the smells of spicy street food?
So let’s assume you’ve eaten something you shouldn’t have. Don’t panic. Weinstein, the medical expert from Global Rescue, recommends drinking lots of water. Dehydration is the biggest risk with food-borne illnesses. He recommends bottled or filtered water – not tap water.
If your symptoms persist for more than 48 hours or include severe dehydration, high fever, or blood in your stool, seek medical attention.
“Don’t wait until it’s an emergency,” says Medjet’s Gobbels.
Maybe you’re wondering how a travel columnist survives living on the road. The answer: very carefully.
Street food is completely off-limits for me. I know too many people who have ended up in the hospital after getting adventurous.
A few years ago, I stopped eating all animal products and adopted a plant-based diet. I’m certain that this decision, more than any other, has saved me from getting sick on the road. Being vegan is not for everyone, but if you’re travelling somewhere that has different hygiene standards for food preparation, you might consider becoming a vegan for the duration of your trip.
I’m not sure if I would have just said no to the space cake, though. I remember eating brownies on a trip to Brattleboro, Vermont, a few years ago – and they were far out, man!
All kidding aside, be careful what you eat.
Christopher Elliott is an author, consumer advocate, and journalist. He founded Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organisation that helps solve consumer problems. He publishes Elliott Confidential, a travel newsletter, and the Elliott Report, a news site about customer service.