Bizarre foods or bizarre perceptions of risk?
Aisha P. Salazar, a graduate student at Kansas State University, writes:
I love traveling and eating just about anything in sight. My only rule is that food can’t be too spicy. That’s why ‘Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern’ is one of my favorite shows. I recently found an old episode where he was visiting Ecuador, my parent’s native country. I have been to Ecuador several times since birth, but I got to thinking Zimmern must either have an incredibly tolerant stomach and intestines, or he must spend a lot of time on the toilet and it’s never captured on camera. I say this because he eats the oddest foods all over the world, even at local stands along the road, with apparently no gastrointestinal effect.
The last time I visited Ecuador was about two years ago. I went to different towns and ate all the street food in sight—beef, pork, mote, rice, plantains. I actually drew the line at the cuy because they didn’t look fully cooked and were in the least sanitary locations of all the food, though I have eaten it in the past and it’s really good. I knew I shouldn’t have eaten everything because of the variable sanitation standards, but I ate…and I got sick. I got the worst case of food poisoning I had ever experienced (I’m talking both ends, doubled over in severe pain for two days, unable to stomach anything for an additional two or more days).
It seemed that Zimmern takes precautionary measures by not eating from local stands at all times, but even when I eat at friend’s houses or restaurants I can come up with a bad case of the runs. It made me wonder what he does to prepare himself to prevent a run-in with a toilet and what he would do if he were to get sick. I don’t see any of the cooks using thermometers and he often eats raw foods. So how does he do it and what is his perception of risk? I decided to e-mail him and ask. Hopefully he, or someone working with him, will get back to me. The show’s website states they will be devoting an hour long Halloween Special to the topic of culture and food. He’ll also have an online Q&A session on October 21st.
I often don’t heed the advice of my own field, eating everything from sushi to unpasteurized cheese to alfalfa sprouts. In fact, right before one spring break in college my professor had talked to us about the risk of eating raw oysters and acquiring food poisoning from Vibrio cholera. I, of course, went to New Orleans and ate raw oysters the moment I arrived. I survived unscathed yet, even after several incidents of food poisoning, I still take the risk.
But where does my own perception of risk associated with foods come from? How is it different from the next person’s? Is one influenced by old wise tales, cultural norms, or scientific facts, or even blessed with good genes? Or is it a matter of adjusting one’s intestines to certain pathogens? How tolerant is a native person to certain foods compared to a foreigner? Or does your vulnerability to foodborne illness relate to your perception of risk? (For vulnerabilities, see ‘Who is at risk?’ and ‘Food safety in pregnancy is not simple’ ). Doug Powell often talks about creating a culture of safe food; reducing the risk begins with changing behaviors and spreading knowledge. I recommend Zimmern include a warning statement in his shows, informing the public of dangers that can result from eating certain foods. It would benefit travelers and spread the culture of safe food.
This topic has been on my mind for a couple of years, and pretty much anytime I travel, yet I haven’t bothered researching it. Instead, I go on blindly eating the foods I love and hope I don’t die from them. This doesn’t mean I’m not careful when I or anybody in my family cooks, but I’ve noticed my own risks seem to be greater when I’m eating outside my own home. My friends can tell you how ironic it is that I’m studying food safety yet I always get food poisoning. I found it ironic that Zimmern is the international spokesman for Pepto-Bismol. If only Pepto and Mylanta knew how much I relied on them. Then again, I’m not sure I’d like to be the face of Mylanta. I’m probably better off changing my own food rules and reducing my chances of getting sick.
We all pick our own poisons.
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/admin/trackback/92295
When I was traveling in Senegal, I visited a small village where I was offered a glass of Tang. I had a hard time refusing but I knew I should only drink bottled water. My friend Gorgui explained to the hosts, "It's not good for white people." When I got back to Paris, I saw a travel advisory at the airport that there was a cholera outbreak in that region. It felt impolite to refuse at the time, but not being sick later was worth it.
Anthony Bourdain (No Reservations) frequently refers to his problems after eating some foods on his show. Sometimes it's more information than I want. I enjoyed your post!
Aisha's post raises a question that I'd be interested in hearing you Trained Professionals weigh in on. What's the scoop on variable susceptibility to food-borne illness? Is it about which and how many pathogens have made a home in the gut, acid level, some kind of vomit threshold, or what?
I've traveled all over (I tell my students "Been to seven continents, lived on four, arrested on three") and had a food-borne illness only once, taking only mild precautions most of the time. Meanwhile, my spousal equivalent gets sick if you say "giardia" within six feet of him. Needless to say, I now have verrry careful food-safety practices at home, and we're very careful when traveling, but why? We've been eating the same thing for 21 years now; can exposure be the full picture?
"So how does he do it and what is his perception of risk? "
I wonder if he takes those l. acidophilus tablets that are supposed to offer a little protection against food borne illnesses? I take them sometimes, though I am not sure how well they really work. Or it could be that my picky eating habits and reluctance to try "bizarre" foods has also protected me.
Thanks so much for providing so much useful information on your blog. It's helped me to realize that every time you let someone else cook for you--whether at a restaurant, at another person's home, or by way of food processing facilities--you are putting your life in their hands. This site is the reason I bought my first digital food thermometer. You can never be too careful when it comes to food, and you can't rely on cooks or regulators to protect you.
I think its possible that he has a gut of cast iron, but that he also takes precautions. One idea I came up with is that he researches the most likly pathogens to be infecting the food in a region then takes antibiotics targeting them before and after eating. If thats the case its honestly a terrible idea in the long run due to the probability of making resistant bacteria the normal flora in his gut, but would prevent a lot of food poisoning for him.