Dangerous food?
 

I don't know if this an urban legend, a risk already obsolete, or my friend turned a bit hypochondriac, but when I told him about I'm going to China next week, he warned me about avoidin mushrooms, cause there is a dangerous bacterium in them and a friend's relative of him died not long ago because of this. I've never read about that (just the flus that appearead sometimes). Also avoid fried stuff, he told me (?).

Does anyboy know more about this? What's the truth behind it? I know there are always general precautions when you are in foreign places, cause your body is not prepared for different spices, oil, water, etc.. but his warning sounded really alarming :confused:

I've never heard anything about mushrooms, but many of our stomachs (self included) operate a bit differently during the first few days in country. I usually try to play it safe until my jet lag dissipates, then it's on to duck, chuan'r, and random street food. Urban legend has it that bai jiu kills most bacteria but YMMV.

Don't worry there is a McDonalds on every corner.

Seriously though I travel there several times a year, pick foods you are comfortable with, there is bacteria everywhere, but if you eat in a well established hotel resturant you limit your chances of having issues. There are no standards as we have in the USA for storage, preperation, or hygene.

Moondog is much more daring then me, that street food, especially the rotten tofu scares the hell out of me. There are some great new foods to try including Dim sum, just ask whats inside.

And when they take you to the "very famous" resturant, sit you down and spin the wheel of death covered with new exciting foods, just smile and tell them you have an allergy to everything :)

As for the mushrooms, have never heard that.

Oh yea, bring Imodium Advanced, it works great!

I wouldn't even call that mushroom story an urban legend. Probably just a random story on the internet ...

I go to China often, at least once a year, for weeks at a time. When I go, I eat only Chinese food -- no western food for me. Many, perhaps most, of the dishes are prepared with mushrooms and I'm not dead yet, nor have I ever gotten sick. I've never heard this mushroom story, either here or from any of our many friends in China.

Go, eat and enjoy. China has some of the best dining in the world.

And mao tai kills many people. ;)

You haven't even begun to skim the surface. Some of the oil used in restaurants are actually recycled waste oil which might include those that have been spilled and scooped up from the floor. And the dog meat you see them selling could have come from a stray caught off the streets. And don't get me started on the sources of some of the meat or the fake eggs. :eek:

But seriously speaking just trust your instincts and don't eat at shady road side stalls or suspiciously empty food outlets. I've been eating all sorts of food in China for more than 2 years and have yet to grow a new limb so I guess I'm ok. :D

I always try to eat local yogurt after I land. The yeast found in local yogurt is suppose to help digest local food. Although, finding good local yogurt has been a challenge with the relentless expansion of Danon.

I've lived in China for around 18 months now, based in Shanghai and more recently Beijing. Have also been to a number of provincial capitals and secondary cities. I probably eat mushrooms every second or third day (they're in a lot of dishes). No poisoning so far! As in the US or Europe, just use your common sense - the risks (if any) come from badly run street stalls. Equally, however, I have eaten great food from well-run street stalls. If you want to know which is which, looking for which stalls have a queue and which do not is a decent starting point!

To be honest, in central Beijing and Shanghai I seriously doubt you'd encounter anything worrying, in terms of food ingredients, in anywhere offering an English menu. Of course it is possible to get diarrhea when travelling anywhere new, but I've encountered far worse in other parts of Asia. On the whole you will be absolutely fine - nothing to worry about.

If the whole thing concerns you that much, there is, in most cities, quite literally a McDonalds or KFC within easy walking distance. Even Starbucks have started popping up in the most obscure locations.

FOX will have unlimited story lines if they decide to start the spinoff, House: In China.

I'm still alive.
Not even stinking Tofu killed me.




The urban legend about the mushrooms has been around for years and years and every time I get a new intern s/he comes up with it. Urban legend :)

You ought to be OK in a reputable restaurant.

Mushrooms, though, can be deadly all over the world... not just in China. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushroom_poisoning

Love Mushrooms and it's great that Chinese cooking uses them a lot. :)

U're fine eating almost anything in China.
Your stomach has to get used to the food though.

Never got sick before eating stuff in China.
Only time I had food poisoning/upset was in Malaysia ...

Never been able to establish a correlation between types of eating establishments and stomach upsets.
As I understand it, most of these are caused by poor toilet hygiene or keeping food warm for too long. Street stalls don't have toilets and the stuff is cooked in front of your eyes usually so I reckon they're fine.
Some of the best food I've had in China has been in real dodgy looking places and some of the worst in high end hotels so don't worry and pack your Imodium

nickyboy

Mushrooms/fungus per se are not normally a problem. As with everywhere in the world, common sense on general eating habits applies. These are your gastronomic good health friends and especially in developing countries, of which China is definitely one:
--piping hot, fresh-cooked or grilled dishes
--fully cooked meat, fish, eggs
--dishes requiring no or minimal manual handling by servers (big source of cross contamination of otherwise clean food)
--restaurants or street vendors with high turnover