Be sensible - just as you would at home really.

Cold food should be cold and hot food should be hot. Don't have anything that looks like it might have been hanging around a while, this is especially important with buffet style meals which most hotels go in for. If it has good reviews then it should be ok. A good hotel will not put too much food out at any one time - but keep replenishing stocks when they run low.

Be particularly careful with poultry and pork dishes as both these should be thoroughly cooked through. Shellfish is another to be careful with.

Don't let it worry you too much - just use your common sense and enjoy your holiday.

Pippa

(A little background about where I get my info from: I have worked on food counters,
butchers and fishmongers, as well as in a restaurant with my boyfriend, so we've both done heaps of training vids and stuff )

My Advice:

People who get ill on holiday usually attribute it to food poisoning from "restaurant X" or "hotel Y", but it is actually often quite hard to directly pin point a location or a source, because of the range of activities that people partake in. Usually, a restaurant will be blamed by people without the proof of a pathogen or bacterial test.

Similarly, if a group of people at the same hotel fall ill, then the hotel is blamed. However, say the group of people "eat out" at a different place every lunch and dinner for a week, then that is 14 different places they could fall ill from.

Whilst the chances of one of them falling seriously ill from one of the meals is pretty low, the chance of a tummy bug increases if factors such as salad and ice cubes that come into contact with local water occur. This can happen at a plethora of locations so accusing just one place is a bit silly.

A main cause of sickness is "cross contamination", where a chef will cross from a raw to cooked food product without washing hands or utensils. If you can, take a sneak peek into the kitchens. My usual judge of cleanliness is "does it look cleaner than my local takeaway?"... It may sound silly but it works for me. If the country you are visiting has a food safety certificate scheme or restaurants then don't be afraid to ask to see a copy- an "A" grade can mean a happier and healthier holiday than an "E"

I'd say mummy is right in this case. I'd just advise you to trust your "gut instinct" with regards to food, and don't feel obliged to eat just to be polite or not to offend, don't worry about sending food back or querying it's preperation. If a bartender gives you a drink with ice in, and can't satisfy you that it is made with bottled water, ask for a new drink (watch so that they don't just take the ice out!)- they should be happy to oblige.

If there is any local dish you'd like to try, but you are not sure if you would be able to tell whether it is cooked properly or not due to an unusual foodstuff, then read up and learn about how it should taste, smell and it's texture and colour. For extra peace of mind, use websites such as holiday forums to ask for reputable places to eat, or about the catering facilities in your own hotel. That way you can make an educated guess about your health.

If all else fails though, getting ill is not the end of the world- usually a pack of immodium will see you through! Remember, one persons food poisoning is another persons hangover!

I have been abroad loads of times as a kid, and I've only been ill once, despite having a pretty adventurous family who would tend to eat out rather than in the hotel.

Don't be afraid to try anything new! After all, new experiences is why most of us go abroad... (apart from the cheap sangria, sun, sand and "the other one" )

Hope you have a good holiday
Marianne

Just to add

A lot of so called/self diagnosed food poisening is actually probably due to over indulgence of alcohol and sun combined with change of air!

If there is an outbreak at a hotel it doesn't necesarilly mean it was the hotel food - it could be as described above - or it could be one guest or family making others ill through contact or the swimming pool!

Aparently one of th ebiggest culprits in terms of food poisening is cold or reheated rice.

Avoid restaurants/cafes that are quiet when nearby ones are busy and, if you can, find a restaurant the locals use, ask your check in staff at the hotel and "always" drink sealed when served at your table, bottled water, it's not always the food that gives you the upset tummy !!

Sometimes just the change in the way that food is prepared or cooked, combined with the change in your eating habits (more cold drinks, fizzy drinks, ice creams, new foods) is all it takes to give you a dicky tummy, not that there is anything wrong with hygiene standards.

I always used to get a funny belly on holidays 20 years or so ago but this has all passed - no doubt sanitation is much improved in many countries compared to how it was - but I no longer have any problems other than the obvious temporary reactions to trying out the local brew (well it's only polite!).

2 things I tend to believe/do when it comes to holiday health:

1. If you convince yourself that you are going to get ill, you probably will.

2. Drink bottled water.

Follow that and the obvious things you'd do in any restaurant in the UK and all should be fine.

And remember, a lot of 'food poisoning' both at home and abroad has nothing to do with the food and everything to do with people not washing their hands thoroughly after using the toilet. This can be more of an issue on holiday where we are perhaps more likely to be eating finger food from a hotel buffet or buying fast food from street stalls. I always carry a small pack of antiseptic wipes with me on holiday so that I can 'wash' my hands before eating.

On two trips to Cuba, where finding loo paper, soap, water to flush and/or wash your hands and a means of drying your hands can be very hit and miss outside of the tourist hotels (you never seemed to get all 4 and considered yourself lucky if you found 2 out of 4!) and so never ever went anywhere without some tissues and a little pack of antiseptic wipes, I never had tummy problems despite eating locally prepared salads, always having ice in my drinks without worrying whether it was made from bottled water etc. However, some others who were ultra cautious about what they ate and drink did have problems. I suspect that personal hygiene is sometimes more important than what you eat or drink.

It might be an urban myth but I do seem to remember hearing a story about research into the bowls of peanuts etc placed on the bar in some pubs etc which found that a high % were contaminated with urine and e-coli which is found in faeces. The researchers decided that the only possible source could be the fingers of customers who helped themselves after going to the loo and not washing their hands properly!

SM