General hygiene

• Hands should always be washed before handling and consuming food — particularly after contact with raw meat and uncooked food.

Advice on food and drink

• Food must have been thoroughly cooked, and must remain steaming hot prior to serving.
• Raw seafood should be avoided, as well as any meat or poultry that has not been thoroughly cooked.
• Food from buffets, markets, restaurants, and street vendors should be avoided, if this has not either been kept hot, or refrigerated or kept on ice.
• Cooked food that has been in contact with raw food, or contains raw or uncooked eggs (such as homemade mayonnaise), should be avoided.
• Fruits and vegetables that can be peeled or shelled are suitable choices.
• Fruits and vegetables with damaged skins should be avoided.
• Ice should be avoided, unless it has been made from safe water.
• Ice-cream from unreliable sources, including street vendors, should be avoided.
• Unpasteurized (raw) milk should be boiled before consumption.
• Carbonated bottled beverages are usually safe to drink provided they are sealed, as they are normally free from microorganisms which could cause traveller's diarrhoea.

Advice on drinking water

• Bottled water is the safer choice for drinking water. The seal must not have been tampered with.
• Water should be boiled (for at least 1 minute) if its safety for drinking is in doubt.
• Other options include micropore filtering and the use of disinfectant preparations. These might be more relevant for people travelling to areas where there is little or no access to safe drinking water.
• Advise the use of oral rehydration salt solution for the management and prevention of dehydration (particularly for children and infants). For further information, see Advice on traveller's diarrhoea.

Information leaflets on preventing food disease (pdf) and on ensuring safe drinking water (pdf) are available on the World Health Organization website (www.who.int).