When travelling do NOT eat salads?

[Ihavehope]

I was told by my doc not to eat salads when travelling abroad because of the water issues. I assumes he was referring to 3rd world nations and he also told me not to eat fruits that I haven't peeled myself. So i thought i would remind you guys to be careful if you are travelling abroad.

Al

[milker]

And be careful with tossing salad too !

Milker.

[Miss Philicia]

In my travel experience it really depends where you are eating.  If you stay at a 4 star resort that caters to Westerners the chances are that your water is very filtered and eating in their in-house restaurants is quite safe.  If you're dining out at other places then you should be a bit more careful.  And of course, like anything one takes more precautions depending on one's cd4 count.

[budndallastx]

It's not safe sometimes to eat salads in the US as well.  The recent spinach scare was traced to a single farm sitting next to a horse ranch.  Apparently the runoff got into the ground water there.   

Traveling abroad, you have to be cautious on more than just salads.  Any fresh fruit / vegetable should be suspect in that one does not know the source of the item.  In the past ten years there have been scares on fruits and vegetables sold in the US so it's not too much of a stretch to worry about any other country you may visit.  Further, cheeses sold in other countries may not be from pastuerized milk but that's a whole other topic.

The bottom line is to be aware of what you eat and if you need to, ask the about the source of the item in question.

[Miss Philicia]

Oh, and my food poisoning from the other day was from a SALAD.  I swear, I'm convinced eating a greasy cheese burger is safer than eating a salad out in a restaurant.  If I need raw vegetables (which I do love) I will consume them at home with the knowledge they have been properly prepared and washed, etc.