Job Discussion Forums

[Ferfichkin]

I've heard that food poisoning is a fairly common problem for expats living in Taiwan. Anyone care to comment on their own personal experiences? It doesn't have to be food poisoning per se, just any illness brought on by eating the food or drinking the water.

I'm not sure what the difference would be between food poisoning and these "other illnesses", I just didn't want someone to say, "Well, I got sick from that hamburger last night, but I don't think it was food poisoning so I guess I won't respond." Basically, if you have ever been sick because of the food or water in Taiwan, and care to respond to my post, then I would be interested in hearing from you.

I'm not looking for details here, I'm really more concerned with numbers. I just want to get an idea about how many people this happens to. If you feel like mentioning what you ate or where you ate that might be helpful because then I can avoid that food or that restaurant in the future. That is if there's a pattern. I'm not going to stop eating bread because one person got a bad sandwich, but if there seems to be a pattern I might think twice.

I basically just want to see if this happens to a lot of people or not.

Thanks,
fich

[clark.w.griswald]

I can't say that I remember ever having had food poisoning in the whole time that I have been in Taiwan (10 years plus). I may have early on but can't recall. And this is despite the fact that I tend to be fairly adventurous and eat largely Chinese food.

One point I would like to make for newbies is, don't be afraid to try new foods, but make sure that you eat western food at least once a week just to give your stomach a chance to settle in.

[Taylor]

Dear Readers,

I've had only 2 or 3 bouts with food-related illnesses in my 7+ years here in Kaohsiung. The most notable instance occurred in April. I ordered 15 boiled dumplings (shuei-jiao) and felt really bad about 90 minutes later. I was sick for almost 24 hours, after losing lots of water (read between the lines).

The weather had been particularly warm that day, and I believe the shop had just become accustomed to leaving the dumplings sitting in a non-refrigerated location.

Moral of the story: An order of 15 dumplings should take at least 10 minutes to cook--if they've been frozen properly and cooked thoroughly.

Best wishes,

Taylor
Kaohsiung

[Union Jack]

I would like to mention that I have had similar experiences to Taylor. I feel that here in Taiwan it is a matter of pot luck as to whether you get sick. For example I have eaten at alot of the street markets and side cafes and only been sick a few times. I would however like to mention that the last time I got sick was after eating at Dan Ryans.(please note Dan Ryans did a good customer service job). I would like to mention that I lost water from both ends and the toilet was a little busy to say the least. It was so bad that I had to get an injection to stop me from throwing up all the time.
At the end of the day it does not matter if you eat at a western restaurant or at a street cafe you will get sick every now and again.

[Xenophobe]

I never had a bout with food poisoning while in Taiwan, but my wife had one and it involved one of the more popular Western restaurants in Kaohsiung. Sort of ironic, that all the times we ate out of little hole in the wall restaurants or from street vendors and nary a stomach complaint. One BBQ pork sandwich from one of our favourite Western joints and it was off to the emergency room that evening. Got some free food out of the deal and it never happened again.

[Aristotle]

Sadly, personal and public hygiene are one of the many areas where Taiwan remains at third world levels.
Food poisoning is a fact of life on Taiwan and everyone gets it regularly. I get it once or twice a year and don't even notice it, unless it puts me in the hospital.
Welcome to Taiwan!
A.

[Miyazaki]

I got food poisoning from the Regent hotel buffet.

It can happen anwhere I guess.

That was really bad.

[Aristotle]

[clark.w.griswald]

[Serious_Fun]

greetings to all-

Thanks for an interesting thread with great relevance to ex-pat life...

My experience(s) with food poisoning / food cleanliness comes from years of travel, but I wanted to relate it to you here so that you could consider my "secret" :

Like most of you, I use common sense when buying/eating food(s) and avoid potential problems. When I am about to eat questionable food(s) I pop a few "activated charcoal" capsules....and never have a problem.

The best example of the efficacy of "activated charcoal" comes from my time spent teaching EFL/ESL in So. Korea:

One day in Chechon (Chung-Chong-Buk-Do)I went to lunch with a fellow teacher who was a local Korean man. He suggested that we eat at a roadside noodle stand that he frequented. I didn't want to insult his choice, so I agreed. Once seated I noticed the plastic bowls used for food preparation...the bowls were attracting quite a few flies....and the noodles, ingredients, etc. were sitting out in the sunshine. I discretely opened my bottle of "activated charcoal" capsules and took 2 of them. We ordered the same dish and ate our meal...

The next day I found out that my fellow teacher, with whom I had enjoyed the noodles, was absent from work since he was as sick as a dog with food poisoning. I was as healthy as ever.

I've used these capsules all across the globe. I first heard of them from a world-traveler who lived in Turkey. She swore by them. I buy them here in the US at health-food or vitamin shops. The bottle that I have now cost me US$9 for 90 capsules of 260mg each. I take 2 caps per dose before questionable foods.

I hope that my inputs saves somebody from a nasty bout....



BTW: I also use Sanwa "sailor gwan" once I have an upset stomach. Perhaps all of you know this since you are living/working in Taiwan?

http://shopping.sina.com/sinamall/grd_productpage.asp?st_id=186&pd_id=sunpo00008-000016&pf_id=sunpo00008

[Fortigurn]

Thanks Serious, a useful post. Any idea how those capsules work? I thought they were only used for flatulence.

[Aristotle]

I have also used activated charcoal when I was in Surabaya. I was not sick at all while many of my colleagues spent much of their time in bed from food poisoning. A little preparation goes a long way in places like these.
Unfortunately I can not find it here on Taiwan for reasons I don't even want to get into.
The Taiwanese people who grew up on Taiwan have a natural immunity to the various kinds of bacteria that cause food poisoning. A possible explanation why some people who posted above stated that it is a common occurrence and others claim to have never gotten food poisoning. They same can be said for the Taiwanese people's knack for ignoring so many of the other social ills that affect all the residents of Taiwan. If you have never been exposed to the outside world you can't see the the problems that exist around you.

For those of us that are not Chinese and have not been totally acclimatized or acculturated, food poisoning is serious problem on Taiwan. Something our Chinese counterparts living on Taiwan have a hard time understanding.
I did find a local Chinese medicine remedy called "Tousz Yau" by the local herbalist, it was effective but had some side affects.
Good luck!
A.

[Serious_Fun]

greetings again:

In response to some PMs re: the Activated Charcoal which I take before eating questionable food(s), here is a decent URL which explains a bit more about the process:


http://www.emedicinehealth.com/articles/11575-1.asp

Another site said that there are rarely any complications when using Activated Charcoal...but it said that constipation could occur.

I personally have never used the Activated Charcoal every day, so I can't attest to that!

As you'll see (or, as you already know), the Activated Charcoal works as a filtration agent, and it seems very similar to the liver's process. So I wanted to add a short comment about liver care! Don't drink too much alcohol! Eat liver friendly foods and drink filtered water when you can! This will help your body to eliminate toxins...

Sorry if I sound patronizing -- most of us have over-indulged when overseas. (I am probably more guilty than most of you)...but I wanted to contribute that comment. [insert sentimental music here]

[TaoyuanSteve]

In response to the main topic of this thread, I have found food poisoning to be a very small concern indeed. It has happened to me, though very rarely. One notable incident occured when I got sick after going to a self serve restaurant (自助餐廳), the food from which had been sitting around too long. These little self serve cafeteria style restaurants have a kind of a buffet arrangement; you pick what you want and pay either by item or weight. Usually, these are very cheap and tasty meals. The problem was this particular place was in a smaller area and did not have many customers at the time. The food I selected had been sitting for god knows how long. I remember thinking everything looked ok. The person I was with tried to warn me that this place didn't look too good. I should have listened. Moral of the story: Most places are safe to eat at here. Just make sure your food is made fresh to order, or the buffet restaurant you choose has enough customers buying food to ensure the selections are fresh. Food that looks like it has been sitting for any length of time is dangerous in this climate.

[Taylor]