JC98

Hi,

Is it safe to eat raw fruits and veggies served in hotels and restaurants recommended by guidebooks? Other than the Sheraton in Lima, we'll be staying in small, budget hotels elsewhere but they're all highly recommended in different guidebooks.

Several people on this forum have reported falling sick from the food in Cusco / Sacred Valley area that makes me a bit concerned about the level of hygiene that we should expect.

Please advise and share your experiences.

Thanks!

dockruins

I suggest you try cuy.

althom1122

I would not eat raw fruits/veggies/salads in Peru, or anywhere else where it's not safe to drink the water. You don't know if the salad ingredients were washed in tap water or not. You're probably ok in a high-end hotel, but in a budget hotel, I'd say no. Doesn't mean you'll necessarily get sick if you do, but personally I don't think it's worth the risk when there are plenty of foods you can safely eat. We didn't eat anything like that and didn't get sick.

blamona

Some people don't fall sick from the food-they fall sick from the altitude-they sometimes don't know the difference-something to consider. Of course, don't eat from outdoor stalls, etc, but for the most part, found all of the restaurants , especially Cusco, to be up to standards. I have travelled to many countries that the food made me sick-but found Peru overall to be up to standards, at least in the main tourist areas.

JC98

Thanks, all, for sharing your experiences. We should keep our cautions about then, esp. in smaller places.

Read a lot about Peruvian ceviche (raw seafood), maybe we try it only at some big, reputable restaurant in Lima.

Cuy! What does it taste like? Rat? Chicken?

I'm looking forward to trying some Incas foods too -- like different types of corn and potatos I read about in the trip reports in this forum.

dockruins

Cuy = Guinea Pig

Its a delicacy in Peru.

pnb

For the most part, we were ok eating in Peru. We ate at different restuarants and were fine. We were careful to not drink the water, to ask for things without ice, and to brush our teeth with bottled water.

Ironically, the only stomach problems I encountered were following a dinner at the 5* Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel. I'm not sure if it was food poisioning, or if it was the spices used (I don't have a sensitive stomach), or the altitude (we had hiked the Inca trail that day) but my stomach was a mess. It became such a problem that I had to go to a pharamacy and buy medication because I feared becoming dehydrated and couldn't hold any food in my stomach.

It was bad but the medicine helped quickly and I managed to enjoy Machu Picchu that day. Nothing was going to keep me from seeing what I had traveled so many miles to see

theheadysmiths

Is there a particular medicine which one should take with them to Peru in case of stomach problems ?

happytourist

Just returned this week from Peru and Ecuador. The food rules are: always use bottled water (keep a bottle in the bathroom for brushing teeth), never eat any fresh fruit or vegetable that hasn't been peeled, don't have any ice. Many restaurants that serve tourists always peel their tomatoes and cucumbers and all their fruit.

Take a bottle of Pepto Bismal tablets just in case. If you're really worried, get a prescription for Cipro.

iron

Returned from 3 weeks in March - everyone on our tour was sick and everyone had bottled water for drinking, brushing teeth, etc. - our tour guide advised not to eat anything raw, especially lettuce - and with all these precautions - everyone was sick on the trip - Take cipro immediately when symptoms appear. Don't forget that Peru is a third world country even though tourism is abundant.

Shirst

A great drink there is the Pisco Sour. I had several of them and had no problems but then found out that they contain raw egg whites. We met someone who had become very sick while doing the Inca trail and she was diagnosed with salmonella poisoning and thought it might have been from some Pisco sours she had drank before that. They also are made with blended ice and you never know what water the ice has been made from.