How to avoid food related illness abroad?

[behappy1736]

3/6 of our holidays over the last few years and one of our family has come down with sickness and diarrhoea on holiday 😩
I don't know what we are doing wrong! 🤣
So what tips do you follow when abroad (especially all inclusive which we will be going on) that help avoid any nasty tummy bugs or E. coli which I'm paranoid about as I have health anxiety 🤦🏻‍♀️

Take a probiotic at least 4 weeks before you go and continue to take it until you come back. Biokault is good - you can get it in Boots and from Amazon.

Don’t have ice in drinks. Brush your teeth with bottled water. Don’t have slushies.

Make sure meat is not rare or medium to rare. Well done all the way.

Don’t eat salad or fruit unless you can wash it yourself in bottled water or can peel it.

Not sure if those tips help but that’s what I tend to do and so far so good…! I have a rare autoimmune disease and getting food poisoning can be lethal to me so I have to be ultra careful. Other people wouldn’t be so cautious!

No uncooked fruit or veg. No ice.
Only bottled cold drinks: don't have soft drinks out of a pump.

Don't suddenly switch onto a much richer diet because you are away: sometimes just too much ice cream can upset you (esp children or older family members) .

Don't go ai! Sorry to sound facetious but it's asking for it'!

Don’t get heat stroke or drink too much alcohol.

Sorry but I echo the " don't go"
Comment, we've done a huge amount of holidays over the last 25 years and the only ones with the squits were all inclusive
All the others ah e been totally fine

No Ice in drinks is obvious one but lots of others mentioned above

Basically just eat bread and chips. You will have a great time!

Don't you post this a few months ago??

*didn't

backpacked all over Asia and South America and never got sick from the food

only time i ever did was in all inclusive places in europe

Stomach bugs are often not food related at all but picked up swimming in the sea or pools. DH used to suffer badly on every single holiday until he stopped going in the sea or pools. Since then he has been fine whether eating in restaurants or hotels.

Wash your hands before eating (or touching your face).

Eat freshly cooked food if possible. If eating out choose a busy restaurant, preferably one catering to locals rather than only tourists. Hotel buffet food is notorious for food poisoning so AIs are not the best option but if there is an option where they are finishing the food off in front of you pick that. Read reviews and avoid anywhere with lots of reviews mentioning food poisoning.

Water is drinkable in most places in Europe and probably not the problem but you obviously have to be more careful in places like Egypt, Asia etc.

Hate to say it but if you want to avoid bugs avoid all inclusive. Food is never piping hot but rather lukewarm. Food is left out for hours on end. Multiple people handling ladles etc who may or not washed there hands. Food storage can be iffy and food that should have be disposed of reheated or put in a sauce

Wash/sanitise hands before eating and after touching money

yes to the above.

and try not to get pool or seawater into your mouth.
check the water quality of sea an lake bathing sites. in some countries sewage is let out uncleared.

never ever eat raw sea food (oysters, sushi)

Where are you going on holiday? Certain destinations are more likely to give you an upset stomach - Egypt and Morocco for instance - and read reviews of hotels before you book - some seem to have regular outbreaks of food poisoning that suggest ongoing issues with poor kitchen hygiene.

If you've stuck with western Europe and just been unlucky then eat stuff that has to be cooked fresh, be aware of the things that turn up on the buffet again and again, stick to bottled water, avoid things are more likely be risky like shellfish, make sure your own personal hygiene is good - always wash hands before eating, eat fruit that has to be peeled first and don't eat meat that's been kept warm for hours (it's a breeding ground for bacteria).

And don't eat under-cooked foods - particularly meat and eggs.

Yes, where are you going to be so ill all the time?
The only time I've definitely had food related stomach issues was Thailand as a backpacker.
Before I go anywhere, I check if the water is ok (last 3 years, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Belgium so all ok)

The last few times one of us has been sick we have been at a 5* All Inclusive in Tenerife.

Oh god, which 5* Tenerife hotel? Going to the island in spring..

Don't touch your face. If you do have to touch your face wash/sanitise your hands first - every time!

Don't go AI.

Any place with mass made food left out for self service is likely to cause issues, in comparison where food it freshly cooked and eaten immediately.

Ugh we've always gone AI and it works with the kiddies.
Even if the All Inclusive is being cooked all the time by the chefs being the buffet counters?

We may have been lucky, we never had any food related illnesses despite going into the pool and sea but we are very careful with food.

When going AI and having the buffet restaurant, we try to get food when it's freshly plated from the grills I can see. I hardly touch the vegetables or salad bars.

No cream sauces, no eggs.

I'm not a fan of AI, but avoid all fish/seafood dishes - unless you can grab stuff literally as it appears on the buffet.

There's usually a cooking station, so I'd go with whatever the cook is cooking.

The problem is it often is just being reheated rather than freshly cooked