Have you ever been sick in Taiwan from food or water?
Yes
No
Maybe
0voters
Hi,
Prior to arriving in Taiwan, I read several comments (some on govt sites such as C.D.C. in the U.S. if I remember correctly?) about taking precautions with food and water here. These comments were along the standard lines for non-Western, non-industrialized travel spots, such as “Don’t drink the water” and “Cook it, boil it, peel it, or forget it.”
I’m posting now to get some information about how some of you have dealt with food issues, from a practical standpoint, after living here for a while.
A few prompts:
Do you only drink boiled water?
If you drink other water, such as commercially bottled water, do you believe that any special discretion needed, considering that 80% of the bottled water in Taiwan fails local tests and is considered unfit for consumption?
Fresh fruit: There are tons of great fresh fruit in Taiwan. That makes me really happy. Now, back to the “cook/boil/peel/forget” mantra, I’m trying to figure out if I really need to peel things like peaches, plums, etc. that have an edible skin?
Meat: Do you eat meat purchased from a street vendor’s stall?
Any good food or water stories? …I was so sick… or …I’ve been eating X for Y and it never killed me!
Personally, I’m not that concerned about aesthetics, but I am interested in avoiding serious intestinal trouble, etc., but equally as interested in not overreacting and trying to eat as normally as is possible and prudent.
So, other than “drink a lot of beer,” any other suggestions or comments? Ways that you’ve managed the food and water issue in Taiwan?
Note the poll with this topic.
Thanks,
Seeker4
((Mods: Please kindly fix the poll options for me - Yes, No, Maybe - Thanks.))
Two years ago, I was sick starting on day 3 of my visit, and still had the runs something like six weeks after I went home.
This time, no trouble yet.
Boiling your drinking water seems like a standard precaution here, even among the locals.
Other than that, avoiding dodgy restaurants (like the one I didn’t go into yesterday, where the “chef” wasn’t wearing a shirt, or the one today, where the kid behind the counter scratched some sores on his arm, and then started to prepare a sandwich for me – I bailed) is all I’ve done.
The poll got goofed up (hopefully temporarily) because, after creating the post and poll, I “edited” the post only and the poll disappeared. Then, I went back in to add the poll again, and walla, duplicate options.
Any tips on how not to screw this up next time would be appreciated.
I’ve adopted some fairly odd food prep habits from my wife, who washes edible-skinned fruit with toothpaste, of all things. I have no idea why but do it anyway to avoid getting an earful.
I drink water that’s been through one of those Brita filters, unless I’m pissed, when I drink it straight from the tap. Don’t really prepare meat at home anymore, but used to buy it in wetmarkets quite regularly.
I’ve been made ill by eating squid, but I was violently allergic to that long before I came to Taiwan.
Other than that, nope, I don’t think I’ve been sickened by the food or water here, but I’ll double-check. Just let me ask my other head…
I got food poisoning from eating that egg omelette with oysters. Will never touch it again.
Lived in Malaysia for years and travelled around Asia but never got sick until I came to Taiwan. :s
Otherwise I eat pretty much anything that is and looks eatable though there are of course things I don’t like in general (e.g. intestines).
As for drinking I mostly stick to bottled water here in Asia.
My missus uses baking soda to wash fruit - something to do with the perceived “chemicals” used I think (I didn’t enquire much farther either!) I guess Sandman & I are both cowards!
When i first came to Taiwan years ago, I was young and didn’t give a crap about the whole boiling water thing. I drank it straight from the tap, every day. I ate anything. And not to be too graphic, I was the only person I knew without the runs!
8 years later, I only drink bottled water and eat at “clean” places. I’m a picky eater and I don’t really do Chinese/Taiwanese (I KNOW! )
And now I’m the one with the runs!
I buy my water from this place that has these things which look like gas pumps. Three kinds available:
washing water for dishes @ 20 NT for 20 litres
drinking water @ 30 NT for 20 litres
“tea” water @ 40 NT for 20 litres
Haven’t been sick from it yet ( I buy the 30NT one ).
As for washing fruits and vegetables, I use a liquid called Salatt which has been around forever here in the grocery store. Looks like dish detergent but is made especially for food prep. Don’t know about now, but years ago the produce was all sprayed with DDT so using this stuff was essential.
Meat, I buy from the supermarket or a frozen food place here in Hualien. Yes, I do buy off the carts but I am picky about the way I see the workers handle both the food and themselves!
I got really sick while living in China two years ago, since then no problem, but after that accident I am totally careful and never eat in obciously unclean locations.
We drink the bottled water from Carrefour, Volvic or Carrefour brand (the imported one, not the local). For cooking, we have one of those reverse-osmosis thingies in the kitchen… The guy who installed that thing told us he still would not recommend us to drink the RO water without cooking it first… maybe it’s a Kaohsiung thing.
Anyway, a good way to stay bug free is to eat vegetarian :raspberry: . …most of the salmonella and other crap is in seafood and half cooked meat.
For the fruit my wife bought some orange flavored japanese fruit wash liquid. Seems to work, never got sick from the fruit, or the liquid.
Most people here peel fruit, even grapes. I’ve started to do the same. I drink bottled water, and don’t worry about the microbe count. When I first got here, I wouldn’t eat salads, having also read the advice not to eat uncooked vegetables, but after a while I started to. It seems to be OK here - just prepare the salads yourself or go to clean-looking restaurants. Basically, you should use more precautions than would be needed back home, but not as many as you would need in China, for example.
Without changing the topic of the thread, a supplemental question:
For those who use some type of fruit wash solution, like “Salatt”, do you then eat the fruit or vegetable without peeling, or is peeling still recommended?
More opinions and votes in the poll are encouraged.
Most people get a bout or two of Taipei-belly at one time or other after they arrive. The wonderful thing about the human body is that it adapts. I’m quite convince that my stomach is now stronger than the main vault at Scotland Yard! Never wash fruit or veges with anything but tap water and do boil my tap water. The only thing that gets me on occasion is seafood that’s gone off or not cooked properly (re: not cooked enough).
From a person that used to work down on the farm and knows the amount of chemicals nowadays that are sprayed onto crops I would avoid eating the other layer of any vegetable or fruit
I would be more worried about chemicals in the water here rather than funky bacteria. Chemicals tend to accumulate over time in your body and then do the damage. Bacteria usually tells you straight away its in your body
2/3’s who answered the poll think they got food poisoning. I wonder how many of these are valid cases as against your body rejecting the food as it was too weird or strange.
I know in western countries with all the hygiene standards people still get food poisoning. To a point hygiene is important, but on the other hand, if we protect ourselves too much and want everything too clean, we end up weakening our body’s defences
I’ve never gotten sick from eating the food here, and I do frequent street stalls.
Before I eat unpeeled fruits and raw vegetables, I sprinkle salt on it, then rub the fruits and vegies. Then I wash them until they no longer feel waxy.
In my first month here, I got so ill from eating a sandwich - of all things - that I had to go to hospital. (Look at the way they transport things not only unrefrigerated but with the bag flapping open as the bicycle or open truck goes along the road, and even in the heat - even raw meat!)
I had the runs constantly for the first three months here, and so, apparently do a lot of people according to what I’ve heard. I had them a lot of the time for the fourth month and occasionally since then, especially if I eat something at a dodgy place.
Once I ate at one of those Taiwan Buffet places and found a pair of large insect wings (clear) attached to a keratinous part of some creature - looked like a grasshopper: wrong shape to be the most offensive possibility (THANK GOD). Remembering the look on the serving woman’s face as she put the food onto my plate, I think she had seen it and tried to hide it in my food - no point in letting everyone know! I showed it to some other people eating there, and they said sweetly something like,“It must be some seafood.” Funny - I don’t think seafood usually has wings. Since then, I have significantly modified my eating habits!!!
I got sick as a dog from eating too much shaved ice with all the fixings on hot days. I can’t even walk by a shaved ice stand.
speaking of reasturants. there is a sea food place around the corner from my house. I often drive by and see them doing the food preperation outside in the smoke filled alley with a sewer river running nearby and water dropping of the upper air con units. i always thought about how gross that was. one day I put 2 and 2 together and walked around the alley and found out it was the same resturant where I had my wedding dinner. luckily for me i was too scared too eat.
the place looks very nice from the inside.
The poll is meaningless. If you stay here long enough you will sooner or later get an upset stomach from something or other. The question is really whether you get sick more or less frequently than in your home country.
In my experience, I get sick just as often in UK as in Taiwan i.e. not very often.
I’ve been drinking bottled water for years and eating fruit. I tend to peel all fruit, especially things like cherries and grapes which are chock full of pesticides. Supposedly scrubbing with salt water helps to remove some of the nasty chemicals but I’ve also read that it’s not particularly effective.
If you’re talking about food poisoning as opposed to getting sick from the water there are plenty of ‘blownig chunks’ stories in the [url=http://tw.forumosa.com/t/food-poisoning-in-taiwan-vs-home/6488/1 poisoning in Taiwan vs home[/url] thread.
Never been sick (as far as I can remember). Of course, I live in Taipei…down south, everything is kinda different.
Fruit: Peeled because of pesticides. (How else do you eat those thick-skinned Taiwanese grapes?)
Water: Boiled for taste and habit. Although tap water is supposed to be potable in Taipei.
Food: Avoid stalls/carts for anything with materials that should require refrigeration. Sure, it means that I miss out on fried chicken chop and other goodies like that…
I did get sick once after eating some chao mian that had squid bits and liver chunks in it. Perhaps it was food poisoning from bad squid, but I’ve never been able to eat squid or liver since then.
Sometimes when I travel I get a case of travellers’ diarrhea accompanied by a fever. This usually lasts a day. Happened to me in Vietnam, Peru, and after a trip to Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Thailand. Oddly, it didn’t happen to me in Africa.
- Yes, No, Maybe - Thanks.))
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