One of the main concern when on an expedition in a developing country is water and food-borne illness. The most reliable way to ensure unfiltered water used for cooking, cleaning, or drinking is safe is by heating it: water should be brought to a rolling boil and kept there for five minutes before use to guarantee that any pathogens have been killed. Water filtration and treatment systems designed for hikers are also effective, but replacements filters may not be available, so bring plenty of supplies with you. Water filtration systems for home use should not be relied upon because they can’t filter out all of microbiological agents that may be in the water, even if they can filter cysts.
The easiest, safest source for water is bottled. When drinking bottled water, make sure the container is sealed: it is possible that you may be served tap water in a bottle because your host thinks you like drinking from bottles, not because you want to make sure the water is clean. As the use of bottled water has spread, this problem is becoming less common, and bottled water is readily available. Other drinks from sealed bottles, such as soda, will be safe to drink, as will hot drinks, however, these do not help rehydrate you.
Water contamination can come from other sources: if it has come in contact with dirty water, it can carry disease. This includes everything from plates to fresh vegetables. Fruits and vegetables should be peeled before eating. Lettuce should probably be avoided because it retains a lot of water on its surface and is rarely cooked, making it easy to pass along bacteria. Fruit juice is fine, but some fresh fruit drinks may be mixed with water.
The other problem expedition members must deal with is food contamination. The fewer steps food has to go through to reach you, the less chance it has to become contaminated. While a piece of freshly cut, fully cooked meat is probably fine, ground meat may have been through equipment that had not been properly cleaned. Likewise, eating fish caught off the coast nearby will be much safer than seafood that has traveled any distance, as refrigeration in transit may be questionable or non-existent. Eggs in developing countries are rarely refrigerated either in transit or while in storage, creating an environment can grow salmonella very quickly, so they should only be eaten fully cooked.
Don’t forget your hands: no matter how clean or safe your food may be, you can still transfer bacteria from your hands to your body with food you are handling. Wash your hands before every meal, and keep your fingernails clean to keep from transferring bacteria to your food. Remember that you need to use water that you know is clean.
All this may seem paranoid, but there is one step that will make an expedition healthier and more fun: eat like the locals. Most people in developing countries eat healthier than those in the developed world, as their diets tend more toward fresh foods and less meat and processed foods, and locals are more likely to safely prepare foods they are familiar with. When shopping at a local market or eating at a restaurant, keep one rule in mind: busy is better. Flies indicate food had been out for a while, so it probably isn’t fresh.
Finally, make sure you know what to do when the inevitable tummy bug hits you and that you have the necessary rehydration solutions handy in your expedition medical kit.
What happens when you are given strange food, but don’t want to offend – click ‘expedition‘ to find out!
