Is The Food Safe?

[Jollygoodfellow]

On 2/28/2023 at 7:32 AM, Onemore52 said:

Then the penny dropped. That I had been looking at the way the maids in the house were washing the dishes , a lot of soap and running everything under cold water, (usually taking 40 minutes to do that 5 minute task) .

I've been here 6.5 years washing dishes in cold water except sometimes for something very greasy and never had a problem. The question is how many people in the west sanitize their chopping boards regularly?  Chopping boards get bacteria ground into them whether plastic or wood but still l bet most just wash and forget.  Having said that I wonder how anyone survives here when I see big wooden chopping blocks years old used over and over all day long in places like markets or native restaurants cutting up chicken or lechon.

[Onemore52]

I worked on drilling rigs in Malaysia and West Africa for about thirty years and the diseases I picked up all were caused by people mot washing their hands after doing a number 2, we had to educate those people working in the galley about personal hygiene.

After my month off I would always get sick on return to the rig,that continued until we got an ex U.S.Navy medic onboard who took charge of cleaning all the internal handrails being wiped down with alcohol, and a mist of eucalyptus oil injected into the air conditioning, seemed to kill off the bugs.

When I went back to Australia for a brief relieving job the whole crew had to do a piss test, on completion of the test the medics remarked how 95 percent of the crew did not wash their hands after the test.

That is how I believe all this shite is transmitted.

 

Edited March 3, 2023 by Onemore52
Added text

[Onemore52]

To expand on my previous post let me explain where the crews were hired from.

While the rig was In Malaysia the majority of them came from Borneo, straight out of the jungle because they were ver hard workers, they didn’t know how to use a toilet.

Same in West Africa they came out of the jungle, once again hard workers who had never seen a toilet yet knew what it was for.

So  no wonder we got sick.

[Dave Hounddriver]

9 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Chopping boards get bacteria ground into them whether plastic or wood

Quote

. . . The tests results indicate that the surface of a wooden board will actually stop dangerous bacteria from multiplying and the germs simply die out after a period of about three minutes. . .

https://www.rowandsons.co.uk/blog/myth-fact-antibacterial-properties-wood/

 

[Gator]

12 hours ago, Gator said:

I’ll ask the wife what they use for pest control. 

@fillipino_wannabe Wife says really don’t have much of a pest issue. They only occasionally spray with a soapy water solution or have the field-hands simply pick the bugs off. For fertilizer they only use goat and cow manure plus compost. For food safety as well as eye appeal, all the veggies are thoroughly washed / rinsed before taking them to the market or delivering them to the numerous restos and resorts they supply in Moalboal. 

[hk blues]

 

12 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

I've been here 6.5 years washing dishes in cold water except sometimes for something very greasy and never had a problem. The question is how many people in the west sanitize their chopping boards regularly?  Chopping boards get bacteria ground into them whether plastic or wood but still l bet most just wash and forget.  Having said that I wonder how anyone survives here when I see big wooden chopping blocks years old used over and over all day long in places like markets or native restaurants cutting up chicken or lechon.

Same with us - I can't recall my wife ever using boiling water to wash dishes.  And yep, I'm sure at every wet market we've all seen the decades old wooden blocks used to chop various meats, possibly different kinds on the same board. 

Despite all of that, I don't get sick any more than I did back home or in Hong Kong so maybe we're not as hygienic as we think back home.

[Snowy79]

9 hours ago, Onemore52 said:

I worked on drilling rigs in Malaysia and West Africa for about thirty years and the diseases I picked up all were caused by people mot washing their hands after doing a number 2, we had to educate those people working in the galley about personal hygiene.

After my month off I would always get sick on return to the rig,that continued until we got an ex U.S.Navy medic onboard who took charge of cleaning all the internal handrails being wiped down with alcohol, and a mist of eucalyptus oil injected into the air conditioning, seemed to kill off the bugs.

When I went back to Australia for a brief relieving job the whole crew had to do a piss test, on completion of the test the medics remarked how 95 percent of the crew did not wash their hands after the test.

That is how I believe all this shite is transmitted.

 

I've been following a board certified allergist/immunologist for a while who posted a video of the good old CR use with a bum gun and tabo. You can safely say they are no where near as hygenic as the locals make out especially as very few public CRs have handsoap etc. Let's just say the hose and tabo has shook hands with a few hundred people's butts each day. 

 

The food may be safe but those handling it usually aren't. 

[JJReyes]

Food handling practices in the Philippines is way below global standards yet, surprisingly, the number of food poisoning case is about the same every year.  I am assuming the locals develop immunity after constant exposure whereas the new arrivals land in the hospital.  Mexico has Montezuma's Revenge which hits the Gringos but seemingly has no effect on residents.

[Mike J]

Amoebic dysentery twice in  my  nine years here and food poisoning a few times.  The worst was from a shrimp dish where I thought I was having a heart attack because GERD was preventing me from vomiting.  Used to love shrimp, but cannot eat them now.  I agree with @JJReyesthat the locals have built up a resistance that we expats do not have.

[Mike J]

19 hours ago, Snowy79 said:

I've been following a board certified allergist/immunologist for a while who posted a video of the good old CR use with a bum gun and tabo. You can safely say they are no where near as hygenic as the locals make out especially as very few public CRs have handsoap etc. Let's just say the hose and tabo has shook hands with a few hundred people's butts each day. 

 

The food may be safe but those handling it usually aren't.