Originally posted by: Koing
Hey guys I'm just wondering how the hell is everything so 'unsafe' in India? The water, milk, meat, food stands etc?! Koing
Koing: to the people living there, the water is not a problem. its us westerners that have the problem, and that too depends on if it is city water. our stomachs are not acclimated to the 'dirty water' Many families have private pumps in their homes that get the water direct from the groundwater. 400 foot deep. That is clean, but i'm still paranoid and don't drink it -- i probably could. But city water shouldnt be drank by anyone who wasn't born there or anyone who hasn't drank it for a number of years. Some of the milk is bad because there are certain groups of India that are real a55holes. There are certain states in India that contribute the most to hooliganism, poverty, and other negative aspects. Usually people from these states (i won't mention it to avoid offending them) are poor, and not only that are opportunists who don't give a sh*t for peoples safety. Long story short, they have made synthetic milk and mixed it with real milk and sell it to people. If you go visit Delhi and see a beggar, more than likely they are from one of these states. They don't like to make an honest living. I say don't eat the meat because in general meat that is not cooked or washed properly is riskier than vegetarian food.
I see the meat strung up outside shop vendors on crowded streets, and i think thats gross. I have seen that phenomenon in other countries though. Of course, if he goes to a nice restaurant, it is o.k. I meant really that he shouldnt eat the meat from anything less than a really nice restaurant, even 'average' restaurants won't cut it. And totally avoid street vendor food -- again, localers can eat the stuff, but foreigners should not. Koing, I don't want to give you the wrong impression with what i have written. i mean the sanitary levels are questionable even in this country. Have you ever seen a commercial chinese kitchen? I have, and it wasn't pleasant. Its one of those things that you just don't try to think about. my friend who used to work at Burger King here in the u.s., now this is gross and i scolded him for this, told me jokingly once he would take a dump and then go back and make burgers - without washing his hands... you probably wouldn't get sick from that though because the meat would be heated to such high tempratures. is it clean? no. but have the germs been killed? yes. another one of my friends who worked at a subway shop (in the u.s.) put the buns of a rude customer in his underwear and then made him the sandwhich. fortunately, no matter how rude you are to indians, they still won't do stuff like that. if they are dirty, they are dirty unintentionally, due to lack of education (if that makes it any better, i don't know hehe). In India, a lot of these street vendors and small eateries aren't run by educated people who know that you have to cook meat to x degrees. the fact is, India is a developing nation, and like other crowded, developing nations, quality control of the food industry is very difficult to maintain. sure there are health inspectors, but they can be bought. and i doubt they go to every little eatery in a country the size of India.
Cliffnotes version of what to do in India: its really not that bad if you look at it, here is what i do: water: i buy Aquafina or Kinley water (just like here in the u.s. they will deliver it to your home, the 5 gallon (?) bottles), and drink from that. I also fill up thermos/water bottles and carry it with me. - a lot of us here in the u.s. even do this. no big deal milk: we buy from Mother Dairy, the govt. regulated source. When I'm in Punjab, my relatives have their own cows. that is as fresh as it gets. Opt for "half-tone" milk. the other milks are too thick and don't taste like american milk imho. people in india prefer thick milk for some reason. meat: okay to cook it at home, when you can supervise it, and heat it to proper temps. okay to eat in 5 star or better restaurants. Avoid anything less than that. (some may say i'm being paranoid, but safety first) other foods: superior to non-organic foods in the U.S. yes, like many european countries, the foods are generally smaller but taste better there. definitely more 'organic' than here. Thank God I don't think GM foods has taken off as yet. Don't expect to find 4 pound tomatoes or 14 inch banannas there, but better tasting, small sized vegetables. if i recall, even the chickens were smaller there. if he follows my guidelines, he will be as safe as eating in the U.S.