Food Safety In The Eastern Caribbean

[osirissail]

We spent 6 years in the lower eastern Caribbean with most of it in Grenada. Never got sick on the food there even after eating local "roti's" and lots of salads at the Nutmeg Restaurant on the Carenage and other places around the island. The roti's are especially good at a little place on the south end of Grenville's main street.
- - The New China Restaurant across from the Port's Authority on the Carenage has pork or beef in garlic sauce that is out of this world and dirt cheap. Across the Carenage is the Chinese "Flag" restaurant with gourmet Chinese, but be warned a single portion will feed 4 people.
- - Probably the best restaurant on Grenada is the "Red Crab" on the road to Laux Epines and Prickly Bay Marina. If you like Jamaican Jerk walk towards the airport from the Frequente circle for some serious "jerked" chicken/pork, etc.
- - Downtown the most friendly and unique place is the Bistro at the Grenada National Museum. Two Cuban/Venezuelan guys run the place and it is unique and fun. For a really unique repast walk up the hill on Young Street past the Museum to the top and then continue down towards the Market. On the right hand side about halfway down the hill is a concrete little kitchen where the lady makes "Doubles" - a real West Indian treat.
- - For those wanting "budget" groceries the best shopping is at Andall's (United Foodstores) little place just down from the Fire Station in the Carenage or their bigger store across from the central bus Station. Second best "budget" shopping is at FoodFair which is beside the Nutmeg Restaurant. You can get limited bulk foods at the Bulk Foods store next to Ace Hardware in the Bishop Highway or CK's at the circle on the east end of Bishop Highway.
- - For those wanting North American/European food shopping there is True Value/IGA in the Spiceland Mall, Grand Anse. But the prices there are almost double the downtown stores. Next best N.A./Eur food shopping is at FoodLand at the Lagoon down between Island Water World and Port Louis.
- - The best breads are at the Ideal Bakery on the Belmont Road above the Lagoon. Go there on Friday after 2PM and you can get bread "rounds" uncut and hot out of the ovens just like in San Francisco.
- - Best beer prices are at the beer distributor in Frequente Industrial Park at the west end of Bishop Highway or at the beer distributor across the street from the open market on Hillsborough Street. The "Big Fish" next to Spice Island Boatyard also has deals on case lots of beer.
- - Fresh "local" beef from Carriacou is available from Maria at the Whisper Cove marina in Clarks Court Bay.
- - All in all the food in the eastern Caribbean is quite safe - IMHO safer than in the USA since it doesn't have all those hormones and antibiotics and growth stuff in it. The food in the Caribbean is natural, fresh and quite healthy. Unless you are addicted to chemicals and genetically modified altered foods you will find the Island food quite refreshing and tasty.

[svBeBe]

I never get sick from foods, but my husband has a very delicate tummy and must be very careful of what he eats (Crohn's Disease). He has 2 cardinal rules about eating when off our boat. These rules are strictly adhered to in both the Eastern Caribbean and the Western Caribbean:

1.)beverages must be sealed and he breaks the seal -- never served with ice.

2.)anything that is sizzling hot when served is okay to eat. If it isn't served hot enough to sizzle on the plate, he won't touch it.

However, one friend always insisted on drinking only bottled water while cruising the Eastern Caribbean. They did not have a watermaker on their boat. She contacted Guardia Lamblia, supposedly from the bottled drinking water. So even being careful does not mean one isn't susceptible to food borne or water borne organisms.

Judy
S/V BeBe

[Hud3]

Been in the eastern Caribbean for seven years and never a problem with the food from markets nor restaurants. We use a Seagull IV biofilter for drinking water, but know many who don't bother, and don't suffer ill effects.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by henryk

The only exception is when occasionally from time to time will go and have a beer or five at the Tiki bar with my British and Australian friends.

Henryk! You are a very exceptional man.



See you soon


Mark

[dpons]

Originally Posted by henryk

... After living in the Carib for almost three years I and my my wife with two children never got sick. We only eat at street vendors because that's all what we could afford. Only drink the local tap water and occasionally when hiking high up on some of the islands I would drink from the rivers. ...

I'm with you. Sometimes people get a little compulsive about hygiene. The truth is that after a while your body gets used to the local bacteria and you don't get sick often. I spent almost a decade in the Caribbean and, after the initial adaptation, only got sick two times with food-related illnesses.

Protect yourself from malaria and dengue fever with repellent and screens (B12 is said to work well too). Some parasites are nasty, but with few exceptions, medications are very effective. Bilharzia is a bitch, don't wad in creeks.

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by svBeBe

. . .
1.) Beverages must be sealed and he breaks the seal -- never served with ice.. . .

Of the most common and often overlooked ways to get sick - ice cubes are at the top of the list. Generally they are made with local, unfiltered water and that "pure, clean" bottle of soda or mixed drink or even bottled water gets compromised when you add ice cubes to it. Same thing with drinking the "clean, pure" liquids from a drinking glass instead of from the actual bottle directly. The "drinking glass" has - hopefully - been washed, but they use local tap water to do it.
- - Even with the most ardent precautions there is one more certain way to get sick - - brushing your teeth. To brush your teeth you normally put the toothbrush under the bathroom sink faucet, put on the toothpaste, brush your teeth, and rinse from the same bathroom sink faucet. Guess where you are getting those little "buggies" from? The standard way to avoid this is to use "bottled" water to wet, brush, and rinse when brushing your teeth.

[zeehag]

gums, palmar surfaces and soles of feet are great and rapid absorbers of illnesses and heavy metals and whatever ails not wanted--isnt only from drinking the water--is also the habits one has while enjoying the water outside the body.

[Adax]

And then there´s money...
Don't handle money before eating. It is not just a quaint custom that at Mexican street stalls you pay after you have eaten . Dirty money !
Also watch if your vendor preparing the food is handling the money at the same time.
The lemons and cilantro served in Mexican restaurants are not only for taste They are natural bug fighters,although in the case o fresh cilantro it is hit and miss as it may have been washed in not the best water.
Cute that coke and others is always served with a straw ? Nope ,it is for you to avoid having to touch the bottle with your lips as it might have been guarded in storage by very large rats.

I know this is about the Caribean but the point I am trying to make is watch how the locals eat and drink and do the same.

[zeehag]

ty adax--is same all over world--- watch what and where and how and alladat---- be safe and have fun--not mutually exclusive. i love watching the chicken vendors handle money with the same gloved hands they distribute foods with--lol-- they dont change em. hooyaaahh-- cipro, flagyl, bactrim--heeeere we go!!!!!

[rognvald]

Originally Posted by zeehag

has to be a solution other than iodine. too many are deathly allergic to iodine. at least e coli has a medicine to cure it. anaphylaxis does not .

I suppose I should have proferred a disclaimer for those who are highly sensitive to iodine although Iodine sensitivity is rare. Iodine is used widely in general nutrition, animal feed, as a disinfectant and an excellent water treatment. The incidence of anaphyaxis would be extremely rare with a more common reaction being a slight rash in extremely sensitive people. Humans need Iodine to function properly and enjoy good health and nutrition. A quick overview is available on Wikipaedia that should provide enough information for most. As in many things in life, one can always find exceptions to the general rule, even when they border on absurdity. Good luck and good sailing, Ron P.S. Please don't choke on the iodine!

[zeehag]

wiki does not reflect reality, just many folks's opinions.
iodine poisoning/allergy is not rare. is more common than you would think. is just the folks dont usually live to tell about it.
my source--emergency and intensive care nursing for over 30 yrs and personal experience, as the scanner techs try to "take me out" with iodine every chance they get. i dont give them chances anymore.

[rognvald]

Originally Posted by zeehag

wiki does not reflect reality, just many folks's opinions.
iodine poisoning/allergy is not rare. is more common than you would think. is just the folks dont usually live to tell about it.
my source--emergency and intensive care nursing for over 30 yrs and personal experience, as the scanner techs try to "take me out" with iodine every chance they get. i dont give them chances anymore.

O.K., Wiki is not reality, but fantasy. They list 52 fantasy sources including: Oxford University, Institute of Medicine, U.S. Center for disease control and numerous international and national articles in Journals of Science. When I go home for the evening, I will be the Paul Revere of Iodine hysteria shouting loud and long to my neighbors: Please friends, don't use iodine in your water to kill bacteria. You'll die a convulsive and painful death! Readers beware!! The grim reaper of Iodine is lurking at your door. Good luck and safe Iodine experiences, Ron

[zeehag]

roflmfao. of course the entire world is not allergic, but many are and they need to make sure there is something else usable, which there undoubtedly is. i asked for the substitute and got flack. have fun. dont kill anyone i like.

[hellosailor]

Judy, you might want to look into a SteriPen, which is very portable and very thorough for sterilizing things you are about to drink. Not to mention, fast and chemical-free.

Zeehag, most of the world uses iodized salt, often at government expense, because iodine is so vital and so often missed in diets. If you can't tolerate iodine--odds are you shouldn't be eating or drinking anything made with commercial table salt.

Alternative sterilants for water (and produce washing, etc.) are a dime a dozen, water purification chemicals are easy to find but each one brings different problems.

[zeehag]

there are many folks who do NOT use iodized salt. iodized salt was formulated to help with the goitr problems in the mid west , wherein ther eued to be no fresh seafoods. now that has been repaired by the trucking of frozen fish and seafoods.
yes-i took history, also--was a required course for my nursing classes.

all one has to do to avoid iodized salt is to READ THE LABEL. lol which i do a lot of. i am still alive as a result. so are many other folks who NEED to read labels to survive.
there is always an alternative.