Food Hygiene Essentials

When visiting China or any other country with a Chinese orientated culture it can be very challenging to try some of the exotic culinary preparations on offer. People of Chinese origin eat just about anything that is a source of protein. Local delicacies may include insects, reptiles, amphibians, all types of seafood and shellfish, many types of mamals and just about anything else you can think of.

Food poisoning among adventurous western tourists is quite common simply because of the fact that they have no or little awareness of the things which a local can stomach but would be very problematic for them. The prospect of being able to come home and show family and friends pictures of yourself munching on freshly fried cockroaches may be appealing but it may also turn out to be a mistake you might regret for a very long time.

Locals may have a much higher resistance to various food toxins and allergens that you. Their immune systems may well recognize and destroy bacteria which would make you very sick. Remember, they have been exposed to these things all their lives whereas for you it is completely new.

Many good hotels will keep lists of hotels which they feel that it is safe for tourists to eat and in addition they may also have a residential general practitioner on duty or be able to call a reputable GP within a very short space of time.

A good rule of thumb when eating in Chinese restaurants is only to eat in respectable busy places. Only accept your food it it is sizzling hot and do not order anything which your stomach is not used to. Also, never accept fruit which has been peeled for you, always opt to peel it yourself. Never eat salads. In fact, there are no salads in Chinese cuisine. Is it a coincidence that they all eat their food piping hot? Food for thought!

If you do fall sick in China or South East Asia always go to a doctor who has been recommended to you by a respectable establishment. Street doctors are often not qualified by internationally recognized medical schools and may make bad mistakes in diagnosis. Also some doctors may recommend unnecessary treatment and prescribe drugs that you do not need and which may do you more harm than good. It is also most unadvised to go to traditional practitioners because many of the herbal remedies which they prescribe may be infected with mold and cause more harm than good.

Common sense is an absolute must when eating of receiving medical treatment in China. The Chinese government itself are now organizing themselves to bring in a national standards authority which will act upon identical lines to those practiced in Eu regulations and the American FDA. The Chinese government has fully accepted that to continue to operate as they have until now is contrary to the Chinese national interest and prosperity of the Chinese nation. Please, be careful what you eat in China.

In my previous article on shellfish and crustaceans I referred to instances of when seafood became contaminated once it was out of the sea. There are many forms of seafood poisoning and I would like to talk of one of the more problematic and undetectable forms of seafood poisoning that we encounter quite often.

In the field of food hygiene we must also look at the condition of food which has been caught in the wild. This includes the world’s fisheries industry. Wild sea food, particularly that which has been caught on or around coral reefs, is thought to be superior to sources which are grown by aquaculture technologies. Locus, red snapper, lobster and shrimp caught and served fresh from the coral reef are prized as delicacies.

All creatures that live on the coral reef are part of a food chain. Everybody is eaten by somebody else eventually. The food chain begins with single cell creatures such as plankton.  Some forms of plankton emit a toxin called “ciguatoxin”. The reaction to this toxin in humans is called “ciguatera“. (sig-ua-terra).

The plankton enters the food chain at the bottom end where it is eaten my small coral reef creatures. The small creatures are eaten by bigger ones until, finally we arrive at the sea creatures that we love to sea on our plates at the seafood restaurant.

It is important to stress that although the toxin is released into the flesh of the fish it has little or no effect upon them and they can continue to live out there lives and function quite well despite being infected by the toxin. The toxin tends to accumulate mostly in the liver, pancreas, gills and head but is also present in potentially problematic concentrations throughout the muscle tissue as well.

Cases of ciguatera are seen mostly where raw seafood flesh is served but it is important to stress that the toxin is not destroyed or neutralized by the cooking process nor is it destroyed by the powerful acid (HCl) which is present in our stomachs during the digestive process.

The reaction experienced by victims of ciguatera include all or most of the classic allergic reaction symptoms. Sufferers may experience sweating, dizziness, nausea, fainting, tightness of breath, burning of the mouth, itchiness, rashes, blurring of the vision and other symptoms.

This may sound frightening but although highly unpleasant, Ciguatera is very rarely fatal, especially if the victim arrives promptly to a place where he or she can receive modern medical treatment. Patients usually make a full recover within three to five days.

Some cases can be fatal but these cases are usually where people have severe medical conditions or other sensitivities that can be sparked off in conjunction with the symptoms of Ciguatera.

The only way to protect yourself is never to eat seafood in restaurants in locations that you have no prior knowledge of. Prefer to eat fish species from the open sea or freshwater sources. Eat or buy seafood from reputable businesses that have no previously reported incidences of Ciguatera.