Street food

While you are in China, you or someone you know will probably come down with some mild food poisoning or other gastrointestinal illness. This is considered par for the course, especially for westerners visiting China as our guts have not had to deal with the many varieties of food-borne illness the way most people in developing countries have had to since birth.

As with most developing countries, China has a lot of street food vendors. Street food is often the best way to experience the ethnic and cultural diversity of the area you are visiting. In Wenzhou for instance there are Uighur and Muslim food stalls next to Indian or Pakistani ones not to mention the ones that specialize in the local Wenzhou cuisine which is centered on steamed dumplings, dried fish, sweet sausages and poultry. However, although this plethora of food is often well cooked and tastes great, you need to be careful of street food stalls. Botulism and Salmonella are not uncommon among visitors.

Although most food stalls on the street are quite safe, there are some things to look out for:

1) First and foremost, is there a line of people waiting for food during the lunch or dinner hours? If so, you can be pretty sure that the food at least tastes good.

2) Second, is there garbage or food on the floor or in the cooking area? Although there is a general sense of dirtiness to most street food stalls, generally they are free from larger vermin unless there is a lot of garbage around. The cleaner the floor, the safer the food.

3) Third, is the food served hot? Hot food is infinitely safer than cold food or food that has been sitting around for a few hours. The bacteria that cause botulism and salmonella poisoning die at temperatures of 140-160 degrees Fahrenheit.

4) Fourth, if the food is served cold, is it refrigerated and is the refrigerator kept at at a cold enough temperature to inhibit bacterial growth? If you are handed food that should be cold and it feels warm, don't eat it. Often merchants and vendors use refrigerators as storage areas, but they do not leave them plugged in all day. This makes it a perfect breeding ground for bacteria.

5) For more established, permanent vendors look for the health inspection form. This is usually a small poster with happy-face graphics on it. A green happy face is good. Yellow is OK and a red frown is very bad. However, the lack of this should not be a reason to bypass the food. In fact, many perfectly safe food vendors will not display their certificate.

It you are one of those unlucky folks who come down with food poisoning, the symptoms usually last only a couple of days and will not require a hospital visit. However, if you come down with a high fever and severe vomiting and or diarrhea it is highly recommended that you see a doctor. Complications from food poisoning are rare but can be serious.

For more information about Botulism and Botulinum toxin visit the CDC website at http://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/botulism/factsheet.asp

For information about Salmonella poisoning visit http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/dfbmd/disease_listing/salmonellosis_gi.html

I have been one of the lucky ones here. However, I have had mild food poisoning in other countries and I know it can really be a terrible experience.

UPDATE: Many cities in China have banned street cart food vendors since 2011. This does not mean they are not around, it just means you have to work harder to find them. Many of the hotpot and barbecue carts will come out near all night bars and night clubs for example. Others will stick to back alleys and side streets; again usually appearing at night. A great may have moved to permanent locations or regular market stalls. Keep on the lookout. Street food is still the best way to learn about a city and its people.