Revealed: Top travel hacks for keeping ‘Delhi belly’ at bay on holiday, from the risks of RICE to the dangers of ice cubes
Hungry to try some local delicacies while on holiday abroad?
Before you go to sleep, consider the helpful advice on avoiding food poisoning on the pages of Lonely planet Travel Hacks Handbook.
A chapter titled “Food Hygiene 101” outlines “easy travel tips to keep Delhi off your doorstep.”
Here we reveal some of the most important tips. Enjoy your meal!
ICE
Lonely Planet’s Travel Hack Handbook contains ‘easy travel hacks to keep Delhi off your doorstep’
“Unless you are 100 percent sure of the source of the water used to make ice, you should avoid it,” the book says.
“If you insist on ice cream, stick to fancy restaurants and international fast-food chains.”
ICE CREAM, EGGS AND DAIRY
“Ice cream and other dairy products can be unreliable,” the book warns, “[so] skip ice cream unless you are sure it has not been thawed and refrozen.
‘Avoid unpasteurized milk and uncooked eggs to avoid salmonella, E.coli, listeria and campylobacter.’
FISH AND SEAFOOD
‘How far are you from the sea? “If you travel more than 100 miles in a tropical country, you are bordering on food poisoning territory,” the tome warns.
It adds that if you can see the fish, warning signs that it is out include sliminess, a dull color, a strong odor and cloudy, sunken eyes.
MEAT AND CHICKEN
Craving red meat? It is “usually safe to eat,” the book says, but it warns to be wary of raw meat “unless locals have no problem getting it.”
Chicken “is riskier,” so “always cut open pieces before biting into it to make sure it’s done.”
FRUIT AND SALADS
“Avoid salads and pre-cut fruits unless you are sure they have been washed in purified water,” says The Travel Hack Handbook. “If you buy them yourself, peel them yourself.”
Juices? “A risky proposition,” the book adds.
RICE
“We mean it,” says The Travel Hack Handbook. “Reheated rice can be a gamble because some bacteria that grow on rice produce toxins that are not destroyed by heating.”
The Travel Hack Handbook (from £12.99) is available from shop.lonelyplanet.com/en-gb or ‘where all the good books are sold’.