I actually get sick here much less than in the States, but I do almost all my OWN COOKING, and I am especially careful to avoid eating any meat product out from a restaurant or kiosco, unless it is a traditional parrilla. I cook from mostly whole fresh fruits and vegetables and meat with very little processing (i.e. whole cuts).
1. Sanitation is definitely sketchy in many restaurants, or at the very least not regulated like it is in the States, no matter how many stars a restaurant may have. I have had cockroaches in my fries which I just let slide by, etc, and I know too many Argentines who have gotten food poisioning from regular places in Microcentro. So just for my own health and for costs, I try to avoid eating out and when I do, I chose foods that si bien, might have a bug or two in the masa, eating them will probably not send me to the hospital, i.e. only meats I can verify are well done, vegetarian pizzas or cured meats, vegetables not known to carry e coli like bean sprouts, etc.
2. I avoid EVER eating things like carne molido or ground beef because I seem to get a little queasy every time I eat a empanada de carne. Have you ever washed some ground beef from the store and seen the gross gray water that comes from it? Processed food in the grocery store is sooo expensive anyway, is less healthy no matter what country you're in, and I don't trust it. The fresh whole food here is so inexpensive and delicious. So I only buy the occaisional canned good or tomate titurado and some spices from Knorr and Maggi.
3. I still boil my water...just in case. But in the States, I also used a filter, so this is not a knock on Argentina. In my old apartment I had to buy water because even after boiling it, I still got sick from it, probably from the metal from our pipes.
4. I am very careful about washing my hands after being on the public transit, just because of the large amounts of people on there, there is sure to be the common cold floating around somewhere!
5. Totally agree about los supermercados chinos. I have always heard never to buy lacteos there because they save money by breaking the refrigeration chain by turning off or down the coolers at night, and I chalked it up to superstition....until I bought two nasty curdled creams in a row at my nearby store. Never, never again.
I was sick as a dog both times I went to Bolivia from the food and miserable from the altitude, but I have felt great ever since I came to Argentina in 2008. (knock on wood) I am not super protective, only slightly more cautious with restaurants than I was in the States.
1. Sanitation is definitely sketchy in many restaurants, or at the very least not regulated like it is in the States, no matter how many stars a restaurant may have. I have had cockroaches in my fries which I just let slide by, etc, and I know too many Argentines who have gotten food poisioning from regular places in Microcentro. So just for my own health and for costs, I try to avoid eating out and when I do, I chose foods that si bien, might have a bug or two in the masa, eating them will probably not send me to the hospital, i.e. only meats I can verify are well done, vegetarian pizzas or cured meats, vegetables not known to carry e coli like bean sprouts, etc.
2. I avoid EVER eating things like carne molido or ground beef because I seem to get a little queasy every time I eat a empanada de carne. Have you ever washed some ground beef from the store and seen the gross gray water that comes from it? Processed food in the grocery store is sooo expensive anyway, is less healthy no matter what country you're in, and I don't trust it. The fresh whole food here is so inexpensive and delicious. So I only buy the occaisional canned good or tomate titurado and some spices from Knorr and Maggi.
3. I still boil my water...just in case. But in the States, I also used a filter, so this is not a knock on Argentina. In my old apartment I had to buy water because even after boiling it, I still got sick from it, probably from the metal from our pipes.
4. I am very careful about washing my hands after being on the public transit, just because of the large amounts of people on there, there is sure to be the common cold floating around somewhere!
5. Totally agree about los supermercados chinos. I have always heard never to buy lacteos there because they save money by breaking the refrigeration chain by turning off or down the coolers at night, and I chalked it up to superstition....until I bought two nasty curdled creams in a row at my nearby store. Never, never again.
I was sick as a dog both times I went to Bolivia from the food and miserable from the altitude, but I have felt great ever since I came to Argentina in 2008. (knock on wood) I am not super protective, only slightly more cautious with restaurants than I was in the States.
