Do not eat street food during the hot season!

[BaaBaa.]

What language we speaking now?

[Frank Hovis]

The universal language of 'nonsense'.

[uncle tom]

I've never had a problem with soi food, but then I only eat stuff that's either been cooked there and then, or is freshly prepared fruit.

It's when Thais attempt to cook farang food that things tend to go badly wrong (burgers are a no-no..) and people who are excessively hygiene conscious back home also do themselves no favours..

..one should always maintain a good arsenal of antibodies!

[johnnyk]

I was advised by an XTGF not to eat at stalls where dishes have been sitting in stainless steel bins. Not fresh was the word.

[migrant]

I remember we had a thread on food sickness in Thailand.

As a tourist I've never had a problem, but my wife generally picks the spot and we tend to look for cleaner, busier, places.

I guess the odds are you're going to get food poisoning sometime, somewhere, so be cautious to decrease your chances.

Winter to summer months?? Can't imagine that making a difference

(Pepto Bismol in these mugs)

[margaretcarnes]

Most street food is cooked at very high temperatures, and most of it is cooked while you watch. Eggs - yes could be dodgy I suppose but they often also sit outside the Mom and Pop shops all day in the sun and I've never had a problem with them. Turnover tends to be high.
If in doubt avoid food which is already cooked and sitting there waiting to be bought - like kebabs. Otherwise I would guess that a big culprit could be the oil. Often used and reheated too frequently. Or if people get a canned drink from the stall as well and drink straight from the can.

[johnnyk]

I eat frequently at the carts but only from those who are busy and cook it as I wait. I don't eat dishes that have been sitting around since noontime. Had one bout of the trots years ago... from a proper sit down place catering to falangs.

[expat71NL]

Don't blame street food. I had food poisoning from a bad fish at the Buffalo Tavern recently. Don't forget that the Fat Duck in London (probably the best and most expensive restaurant) had to close for a few months a couple of years ago because many of the customers got food poisoning one night. You were just unlucky, you got a bad fish or a bad piece of meat. It can happen anywhere and any time.

[magpiecccc]

When I started travelling a number of years ago my doc suggested a Hepatitis A shot and I have a booster when needed and I haven't copped any problems in Asia. The only place have ever been sick from food poisoning was in Queenstown NZ after eating a salad role.

We always take some bog stop tablets and some antibiotic bombs with us too when we travel (just in case) as my wife hasn't got my iron gut, plus she is a Coeliac so we nearly always require them.

[Pleng]

There's really no guarantee that food in restaurants is prepared or dishes cleaned any more hygienically than on the streets. It's also very difficult to establish where food poisoning came from as even the rarest forms of poisoning take around six hours to sink in, and the majority take 12-48 hours to take hold. So I doubt your poisoning "must have been an egg".

[Big Boy]

even the rarest forms of poisoning take around six hours to sink in, and the majority take 12-48 hours to take hold.

This keeps getting quoted on the forum. However, certain foods do make people vomit in a much shorter space of time. There is one particular food which will make me vomit uncontrollably instantaneously - too much information, I know, and it's not a pretty site.

So, while I accept the evidence that it's not food poisoning, hows about somebody telling us what it is that makes us ill so quickly.

I will add, that I have had food poisoning before, and it is far worse than the symptoms I'm talking about, but both problems are very unpleasant.

[SunandFun]

Keep it HOT, Keep it COLD or Don't keep it! Most food poisoning comes from eating uncooked foods. Second cause is from cross contamination. Uncooked food is prepared on the same surface as food that is to be cooked (usually chicken or meat) Since the uncooked food does not get cooked, the bacteria grows rapidly. Same thing happens when the food preparer does not wash their hands after touching poultry, meats or fish and then goes on to cross contaminate the uncooked foods such as salads or fruits. It is best to shy away from uncooked foods, ie: salads and sometimes cut up fruit unless it is from a restaurant or vendor who practices good hygiene.

[Pleng]

even the rarest forms of poisoning take around six hours to sink in, and the majority take 12-48 hours to take hold.

This keeps getting quoted on the forum. However, certain foods do make people vomit in a much shorter space of time. There is one particular food which will make me vomit uncontrollably instantaneously - too much information, I know, and it's not a pretty site.

So, while I accept the evidence that it's not food poisoning, hows about somebody telling us what it is that makes us ill so quickly.

I will add, that I have had food poisoning before, and it is far worse than the symptoms I'm talking about, but both problems are very unpleasant.

Absolutely. I don't doubt that there are other things which on the surface could appear to be food poisoning which do manifest a lot quicker. Unfortunately I am no medical expert (no food poisoning expert, either, but have at least had some experience in that filed!), so any answer I come up with would be a wild guess. Having said that, I'm going to make one anyway (a wild guess)!.. The only reasonable suggestion I could think of might be an allergic reaction?

[STEVE G]

even the rarest forms of poisoning take around six hours to sink in, and the majority take 12-48 hours to take hold.

This keeps getting quoted on the forum. However, certain foods do make people vomit in a much shorter space of time. There is one particular food which will make me vomit uncontrollably instantaneously - too much information, I know, and it's not a pretty site.

So, while I accept the evidence that it's not food poisoning, hows about somebody telling us what it is that makes us ill so quickly.

According to this:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foodborne_illness

"If symptoms occur within 1–6 hours after eating the food, it suggests that it is caused by a bacterial toxin or a chemical rather than live bacteria."

[PeteC]

......"If symptoms occur within 1–6 hours after eating the food, it suggests that it is caused by a bacterial toxin or a chemical rather than live bacteria."

That part I wholeheartedly believe given all the pesticides they use here. About twice a year government surveys of markets/restaurants show up in the Bangkok Post and they always find pesticides way over the limit. Pete