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I been in Mexico several times. i drink bottled water and eat hot food prepared in a restaurant. I've never eaten bad food or been sick from it. I stopped eating pork in Mexico when I saw it was not refrigerated in a grocery strore. it is the open where anyone can pick it up, look at it and put it down. .
I think "open air" food vendors are a problem unless they are licensed and you are in a state that has strict health laws that are enforced. Most are not.
I been in Mexico several times. i drink bottled water and eat hot food prepared in a restaurant. I've never eaten bad food or been sick from it. I stopped eating pork in Mexico when I saw it was not refrigerated in a grocery strore. it is the open where anyone can pick it up, look at it and put it down. .
I think "open air" food vendors are a problem unless they are licensed and you are in a state that has strict health laws that are enforced. Most are not.
The handling and preparation of the food is where the risk/challenge lies. It's the exception to my overall experience in the county that I get sick from eating a meal in Mexico. I've traveled extensively throughout the country, though, and have developed my own standards of what's acceptable and what's not. An infrequent or first-time visitor, and even some expats who live in the country but don't travel far from home there, face greater challenges, IMO.
Though they're declining in numbers because of the expansion of more and better supermarkets, there are still many local mercados where small restaurants and residents purchase their meats and other food supplies. Many of the meat and poultry products are on display for long periods of time, often in high temperatures, without refrigeration and with flies and other insects evident. These same products are exposed to the elements in the air such as dust and other contaminants.
Proper food handling - clean hands - and appropriate cooking methods - proper temperatures - remove many or most of the greatest risks. But some may remain.
Some of us have stronger immune systems than others. Some of our bodies are accustomed to bacteria which may be found in certain parts of Mexico which arent as prevalent in our home countries/cities. Yet others can be seriously affected - sickened - when eating these foods.
There are times when I'm pleasantly surprised by what I get from a street vendor. Probably most of the time. But I'm not hesitant to walk away from someone or toss what I've been served into the trash ... if I suspect it'll cause a problem. I opt to be more cautious than casual. It works for me. Others may have different experiences.
There are times when I'm pleasantly surprised by what I get from a street vendor. Probably most of the time. But I'm not hesitant to walk away from someone or toss what I've been served into the trash ... if I suspect it'll cause a problem. I opt to be more cautious than casual. It works for me. Others may have different experiences.
Wouldn't this be true anywhere you are? If it looks unclean or worrisome, go buy from someone who is running a cleaner establishment. If someone doesn't know to do this, then all the information on a web board isn't going to keep him from poisoning himself wherever he travels.
After a dozen or more trips to Mexico and Central America, I never got Hep A until I was in Chile, and I'm pretty sure I contracted it in Ecuador, in one of the few towns where I didn't drink the water---but still got it. It's not that bad, it's never fatal, and now I have lifetime immunity to it. I drink tapwater everywhre, I eat from street vendors everywhere, with a few exceptions.
Hep. A can lead to death. The mortality rate rises with age. But people do die from it. And if they don't die from it their immune systems are compromised, and other opportunistic infections may follow.
You must be joking. I contracted Hepatitis A from a restaurant when i was in my late-20s, at the peak of my fitness. The disease incapacitated me for more than six full months, and it took more than a year to recover my strength to a near-normal level. I had a fever of 105° for many days prior to jaundicing, and did not have the strength to stand on my own or walk even a few steps for several months. To say Hepatitis A is hellish would be a gross understatement.
I lived with U.S. doctors who had been sent to Mexico to study giardia. There are many more reasons than Hep. A to be cautious in Mexico... boil tap water, and use the same prudence to sanitize fresh fruit and vegetables as the wise local Mexicans do.
Will give a little reverse of what is Common in Mexico and NOT done in the US.
In Mexico it is a practice to park next to the curb facing the WRONG way against the normal traffic flow. Drivers door towards the curb/sidewalk...exception would be on a one/way street and thats where the Police will be right on the spot quickly if seen.
Another is when backing into a parking spot they will ALWAYS hit the other cars front bumper before pulling forward...never stopping short as we do in the US. Same with wanting to leave they will back up and hit the rear cars front bumper before pulling forward to exit the curb.
I once parked 10 ft behind a car that was dusty like it had been sitting for 6 months. Returned 20 mins later to find the dusty car gone and a large dent in my front hood/bumper. This has happened to me twice so I am very picky where I park.
I lived with U.S. doctors who had been sent to Mexico to study giardia. There are many more reasons than Hep. A to be cautious in Mexico... boil tap water, and use the same prudence to sanitize fresh fruit and vegetables as the wise local Mexicans do.
I had that too. Giardia is even easier to get rid of with drugs. If anybody promised me that I'd go my entire life without any diseases, I (luckily) did not believe them.
With Hep A, I was in bed (but comfortable) for ten days, and it took another month to get back to normal. I was in my 50s.
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