Eating fresh fruit in Mexico?

Question

This may be a bit stupid, but I am concerned about tourist diarrhea while vacationing in Mexico. From what I've read it is safer if I buy whole fruit that has to be peeled. OK, but does the fruit have to be sanitized before peeling? If so, how? Also, can I consume fresh fruit juices or frozen fruit bars from anywhere? One more thing: how do people who stay in Mexico long-term cope with this? Do their bodies build up immunity? Sorry for all the questions. Thanks.

Answer 1

Yes, the fruit usually is contaminated.  You can buy 2 types of fruit/vegetable wash that is natural.  One is a spray that requires water to rinse and the other does not.  However, this precaution should always be taken.  Oh and don't wash the fruit in the local tap water.  The water is bad in Mexico and even the locals do NOT drip the tap water...except for in REAL POOR areas.  I remember eating fresh cut fruit at a Mexican restaurant outside of Chitzen Itza and I got so sick for 3 days.  It's nasty.  Also, be cateful of the frozen alcoholic fruit drinks such as daquiris, margaritas, etc.  Unless it is a real upscale place....it is not good to drink it.  I know buddies who did and ended up pooping themselves in bed at night.  For real.

Finally, Mexicans who do drink the water will build up immunity, but also die at a fairly young age.

Answer 2

Any fruit or vegetable that absorbs a large amount of water or grows in water (like strawberries) are what an potentially make you sick.  The illness comes from a bacteria that grows in water that is unclean or not sanitized.

Fruits and vegetables are usually safer than those that you don't peel.  This is just a matter of science.  An unpeeled fruit or vegetable has more chance of coming into contact with something that is indeed infected.

All of these things can be cleaned very easily however in a matter of minutes.  Most Mexican supermarkets (Superama, Gigante, Chedraui) sell small packets of chlorination powder that will allow you to sanitize your food in a matter of minutes.

Don't eat from sidewalk vendors or storefronts that look suspicious.  Most decent restaurants will certainly sanitize their food.  This is true even more so in tourist areas.

I have lived here in Mexico for the last 15 years - but I am from the US west coast.  Depending on your body chemistry and your overall health, you can indeed build-up a resistance to certain small amounts of some bacteria - but by no means will time here make you "bullet proof."  I get sick one or twice a year - never bad - but it is what it is.

Answer 3

I went to mexico last summer!!! BEST vacation of my life!!!! Well, i ate a lot of the fruit that the resort served to us....if you are staying on a resort, their food should be safe, but if you are not on a resort, do not eat the fruits.  My other advice is NEVER drink the water unless it is bottled.  Mexico does not have good cleaning treatments like the US and that is what gets most people sick, so even when you brush your teeth, use bottled water....Have FuN!!!

Answer 4

EAT WHAT EVER YOU WANT!! WASH YOUR HANDS!!

you can get diarrhea in the usa too!!!

ps

if you do get diarrhea just drink a half of a can of coke mixed with lime juice (a whole lime)

tastes a little wierd, but it works--like a charm.. old mexican recipe

Answer 5

Major resorts are safe. It would be bad business for them if tourists started yapping to their peers that they all got sick eating at the morning buffet.

As a tourist, avoid buying already peeled and cut fruit and veggies on the street. In Mexico we are culturally very uhh.. paranoid about eating clean fruit and we use disinfectant (bought at any major supermarket). In the oddball case that a major supermarket doesn't have those disinfectant bottles, iodine or chlorine are fine (albeit chlorine can leave a bitter taste). One suggestion is in the case of peeled fruits like oranges is to wash the fruit with soap and water before starting to peel it. I do that and I never have problems.

Quite frankly I don't understand why americans drink right from the tap and never wash their fruits personally. There's a reason why massive E Coli infections from contaminated veggies are rare in Mexico.

Tap water can be drank if you boil it or disinfect it with chlorine or iodine. I've done it, it's safe. In fact, perhaps the paranoia of mexican tap water being bacteria infested isn't all that well fundamented afterall. Several university classmates from my faculty did bacteria tests with very sensitive machines to see if the university's tap water had bacteria and after several tests it came back clean. Not that I'd say that the water in a place like Iztapalapa would be a good idea to drink though, but in some areas you can comfortably brush your teeth with tap water with no probs. I've never gotten sick that way and I've lived here for over a decade.

You become immune to the infections of the area where you live in. I rarely get sick and I eat tacos in the street all the time. On the other hand, I'm the only poor sap that gets the flu after visiting Universal Studios in LA in the summer. ¬¬

PS: Avoid eating strawberries unless they are frozen solid or fully cooked. For some reason I'll never understand, in Mexico they like to water strawberries with sewage water so even if you put them in disinfectant water, bacteria can still ge in them. It's a well-known fact that you can get cisticercus from eating strawberries here. Too bad, cuse strawberries & cream is a nice dessert. :(

Answer 6

I have never had any problems with the fruit. Most are what you would find at fruit market or farmers markets here. Same as you would rinse here and most are fresh like you would find at the fruit markets here but half the price.  Fruit juices only in restaurant and fruit bars and ice creams from ice cream shops so good. Most Mexicans also drink bottled water and cook with it but the ones that don't drink bottled water build immunities to them and live 80-90 years just fine.

Answer 7

Well I have been going to Mexico for the past 25 years.  I love eating the fruit in Mexico.  It is just like buying fruit here.  I have never gotten sick.  I wouldn't necessarily drink the water unless it was bottled.  In fact when I go my face clears up and my body feels so much better, my dad says it is because everything is fresh over there, but who knows.  Well hope you enjoy your trip and just don't go to Mexico with negative thoughts like that because then you won't have any fun.  Just relax and enjoy the culture and the sunshine.  

P.S. The mandarins are really yummy over there.

Answer 8

In Mexico you can drink and eat whatever you want!!! obviously you have to check the fruit's condition and from where did you take it...;)

Answer 9

I am an American living in Mexico.  First, you drink only bottled water...everybody does.  Restaurants and resorts use bottled water for their guests and to make ice.  As to fruit, in the grocery stores, in the produce department there are displays of small to middle size bottles of disinfectant to use for fruits and vegetables.  You use 2 drops of this to a qt and a half of water in the sink and place the fruit in this to soak for 20 min.  If you are going to eat something with a peel like an orange, just peel the orange ( without touching the inside) then wash your hands before eating it.  Do not buy fruit juices from street vendors...it is prob safe, but there is risk.  Be sure to wash your hands after handling unwashed fruit...like after shopping, and before eating.  Food in restaurants and resorts is safe...they don't want their sustomers getting sick either and are very careful.  I have eaten in many restaurants all over Mexico without a problem.  IF you are unfornunate and have a problem, you can go to any farmacia and ask for OXAL...there are 2 tablets in the box.  Take one right away and one 24 hrs later.  Also ask for lomotil...and take one after every bathroomt rip for diarrhea, up to 6 a day...these will help you get past your problem much more easily.   Some people are just more sensitive ( or more unlucky) than others to these problems, but I think   the problem is also exaggerated.  Hope you also have a  great trip.