When buying fruits and snacks in Sri Lanka, should one be mindful of cleaning and disinfection?
Absolutely, and it's highly necessary! This can be considered your first line of defense for maintaining good gut health when traveling to Sri Lanka. Don't worry, it's not complicated; I'll break it down for you.
Why is cleaning and disinfecting essential?
Think about it: Sri Lanka is a tropical country, and with hot and humid weather, bacteria thrive easily. Fruits, from the moment they're picked, go through transportation and market stalls, touched by countless hands and accumulating dust.
- Pesticide Residues: This goes without saying; we wash fruits even when buying them at home, right? Local agricultural standards might differ from ours, so washing them provides extra peace of mind.
- Bacteria and Dust: Most roadside fruits are sold in the open air, exposed to car exhaust, dust, and small insects, all of which can settle on them.
- The Culprit Behind 'Traveler's Diarrhea': Often, what we perceive as 'traveler's diarrhea' is simply due to consuming unclean food. Locals grow up accustomed to the bacteria in their environment, developing resistance. However, our 'foreign' stomachs are more delicate and can easily 'revolt'.
How exactly should you do it?
Don't panic; you don't need to treat it like a chemistry experiment. Just remember a few simple principles:
For Fruits:
- If you can peel it, it's your best friend: This is the safest and easiest method! Examples include bananas, mangoes, papayas, pineapples, and the locally famous King Coconut. After buying them, it's best to rinse the outer skin with clean water (bottled water!) first, then use your own fruit knife to peel and eat them. This prevents transferring dirt from the skin to the flesh during peeling.
- For fruits you can't peel, pay extra attention: Such as grapes, Jambu (wax apples), and cherry tomatoes, which are eaten with their skin.
- Prioritize washing with bottled water: Absolutely do not use tap water from the hotel! Local tap water is not safe for drinking, and using it to wash fruits could also give you an upset stomach. Rinse them several times with bottled water you've purchased.
- Soak in light saltwater: A simple, crude, but effective local method. Mix a little salt with bottled water, soak the fruits for about ten minutes, which can help sterilize them to some extent.
- Dry with paper towels: After washing, dry them with clean paper towels or kitchen paper before eating.
- Avoid pre-cut fruits from roadside stalls: While they look convenient, you don't know what water the vendor used to wash the fruits, how clean the knife and cutting board are, or how long they've been sitting out after being cut. If you want to eat them, buy whole fruits and prepare them yourself back at your hotel.
For Snacks:
- Sealed packaging is safest: Snacks like chips, biscuits, and chocolates bought from supermarkets are generally fine as long as the packaging is intact and not expired. Eat them with confidence.
- Freshly made roadside snacks, use discretion:
- Fried items: Such as Samosas and various fried lentil cakes (Wade). If they're fresh out of the fryer and steaming hot, they are generally safe because high temperatures kill bacteria. Choose stalls that are busy and sell quickly, indicating fresh food.
- Non-fried, cold items: Be cautious with these. If they look like they've been sitting out for a long time, or if flies are buzzing around them, it's best to resist the temptation.
To summarize my experience:
In Sri Lanka, enjoying the local cuisine is a major pleasure of travel, and there's no need to avoid everything due to food safety concerns.
Remember this 'golden rule': "Peel it, Boil it, Cook it, or Forget it!"
As long as you're mindful and take the necessary steps to clean your food, you can largely avoid stomach issues and happily enjoy those delicious and affordable tropical fruits!