greece food safety
 

I am wondering if there are any food or water safety precautions to know about in Greece.
We will be in Athens, Crete and Santorini. I have never gotten any bugs - even in Mexico or Morocco but my daughter is super prone to stomach ailments.
It's almost time to go. Waiting soooo long and it's almost here. Yeah!!

We found the food to be extermely fresh, pure and wholesome and we didn't have stomach issues there as we have had in other locations. We ordered salads and grilled fish most of the time.

I haven't been to Greece yet, but I'll be going in September. Because of your daughter's situation I want to ask if you know about using Pepto Bismol as a preventive treatment against stomach trouble? I have taken it on a few trips when I was concerned about the possibility of upset tummy! So far, I have not gotten sick.

I've been seeing something called Yakult (or something like that) recently that is supposed to keep your stomach on an even keel. Raspberry juice is supposed to help too.

Just have her eat some of the fabulous yoghurt with honey
every day to keep the bugs at bay.

We found the food extremely fresh everywhere we went in May 2006. Bottled water is REALLY inexpensive in Greece. From memory it was .50 euro cents per litre from the street vendors, probably cheaper in supermarkets.

ALWAYS drink bottled water.

"ALWAYS drink bottled water"
?!?!

Never had any gastro-intestinal trouble with tap water in any town or village tourists would ever visit. This is Greece, not some Mexican or Eastern European back-water. Although, in some cases the bottled water may taste better, I don't believe it's any "safer".

At the authoritative CDC Travelers' Health website, http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel, there are *very* few , if any , Greece-related health concerns (none when I just checked).

The main caution, valid everywhere, is avoiding un-pasteurized dairy foods.

Water from the tap (faucet) in Greece meets EU purity standards, and is therefore safe to drink. <i>However</i>, brotherleelove gives good advice. On the islands in particular, where tourism has placed big demands on the water supply, salinity has become a problem. Although safe, you wouldn't like the taste, and it could even upset a sensitive stomach. Bottled water in Greece is so cheap, there is no reason not to drink it. Most economical is to buy 1.5L bottles by the six-pack from supermarkets.

Food is prepared from the freshest of ingredients - vegetables picked from the garden that day, meats often from local sources, and fish (not all, though, so ask!) caught by local fishermen that morning. Bread and rolls come from the local baker. If you've never been to Greece before, you are in for a pleasant surprise! :-)

Yes, I should have elaborated. It's about the taste.

I've been to Greece many times and to many differnt areas and never once had a stomach upset. I eat anything and (almost)everything including seafood, salads, un-pasteurized dairy foods, ice in drinks - all the things you are supposed to avoid. I do drink bottled water, mainly for the taste but we also have been warned in the past that the minerals can upset some people or that on smaller islands, water is sometimes tankered in. I don't know if either is true but it's my one precaution.

Maria_H is correct. Many islands, and not just the smaller ones, have water brought in by tanker ships. Some islands, including Santorini and Mykonos, have desalination plants to process sea water for domestic use. There is no reason to avoid ice in your drinks, or tap water for brushing your teeth, but bottled water is best for drinking. You will need to drink lots of water to stay hydrated in the hot Greek climate. :-)

the only concern i had in santorini and other parts of greece was that you werent supposed to flush the paper in the toilet - there was a basket next to the toilet ( this was 2005)

this was in really nice restaurants too - and often the toilets were near the kitchens
i just never understood that
how that would all pass with the health inspectors with the olympics and all

but i didnt get sick and i did brush my teeth with the water and we had coffee and tea of course ( boiling water just for coffee doesnt destroy the parasites if there are any - you gotta boil the life out of it for ten minutes)

my sister in laws brother got very sick after visiting greece back in the early 90s - took ages for the hospital here to find what was wrong with him- turned out to be some bug that lived in goat dairy product
they got the holy water out for him but luckily he got better after many months

My mother has a very sensitive stomach and she gets indigestion easily. Greece is the only country where she never once got sick. She thinks it's because everything in Greece is cooked in olive oil which is good for the stomach. We both drank tap water with no problems.

I've been to Greece a couple of times and I never got sick either. So enjoy the good Greek food w/o worries.

lanejohann, I always add when I see a comment like yours (so that blame may be laid where it should be) that Greece's plumbing system's inability to cope with paper (due to pipes of inadequate diameter) is due to faulty planning by the British, who laid out most of the country's sewer systems before and after WW II.

Whoever's fault it was in the first place, the toilet paper situation realy isn't an issue. Unless you are specifically told otherwise, assume you CANNOT put paper in the toilet - doing so will cause a blockage and real problems. In my experience, bins are emptied regularly and don't smell. If it worries you, take a pack of scented nappy (diaper) sacks with you.

At the risk of stating the obvious--ladies, please do not put feminine products in the toilet either.

Not that you need further comments, but we also had no problems whatsoever and drank bottled water but used tap for brushing teeth etc.

By far most restaurants use only fresh ingredients. We found it telling that once in a while (but very seldom) there would be an asterisk by an item with the notation that "one or more ingredients in this dish may have been previously frozen". Processed foods are not common.

Most people have no problem at all in Greece, which has wonderful food. But if, like me, you have a sensitive stomach, you may find it acts up especially when you travel. The cause can be the adjustment to the new time zone, the water, or a host of other issues. But as a result, I always carry over-the-counter stomach meds with me, as well as a prescription for Cipro,just in case.

Your comments are a riot!!! How we got from is it safe to drink the water, eat salads, etc. to pipes too small for toilet paper waste (though it is gross!)is hysterical. I appreciate all of the info. It's interesting about how the water gets there too.

Marsh: Thanks for reminding to buy some Pepto Bismol. This, however, would be way too weak for what I am talking about.
In Morocco, we Purelled a zillion times a day, never ate salad, drank bottled water, no ice cubes, yadda,yadda, yadda and my daughter got so ill that she spend most of 3 days in Essouira in bed. Spent the next 6 months not being right. Maybe she touched a door (not the knob) that knocked her out.

November-moon: Will look for Yakult - never heard of it but all info is worth checking out.

P-M: Thanks for your reassurance re your mom and her sensitive stomach.

My main concern is water/ice and salads. Didn't think about the dairy products but really glad to know about that. Sounds like the water situation is more about drinking the bottled water for the flavor than the safety.

I just want to take whatever precautions are necessary so my daughter doesn't spend months recovering from some bug.

Again, thanks for all of your input.