Let your instincts be your judgment here, just suffered what must have been Salmonela food poisoning after eating a tortilla with mayonesa, had the ****s for five days thought I was going to die.......beware fodd hygiene standards here sometimes need a lot ot be desired.......

Aaaahh... Maybe this explains your "bad attitude" in your last 5 postings. Why not take a break from the message board (and give us one) until you're feeling better and more upbeat. Thanks.

Saludos, MadridMan

Hey man didnt want to p..ss in your pond man when I told you a few facts about life in spain.....
this doesn´t set a good example for YOUR
website...........
just talkin daily life here.....
God Bless Amerika god´s country

Well, I not exactly a Spain defender, but you really look like you are angry because of yor salmonella (by the way, everybody knows here you should not have things with mayonneisse in bars, maybe you didn't integrate enough to learn that?).

Spain has many defects, many of the things you say are correct, but the way you post doesn't sound like info given to tourists, or positive critizism, but as resentment.

I have got a friend who lives half of the time in Great Britain and half in Spain, and he complains of the spanish defects while in Spain and the British while in Great Britain.

Because there ARE defects in GB too, you know? Starting by TV too, except for BBC. But whe have "la 2".

In spite of what you say, you sound JUST as if uyou hated the country. Perhaps you'd better go somewhere more like your preferences.

dont be bloody stupid ignacio you should be able to eat anything you like in a bar without it half killin you, and your right england has it´s defects tooo, moe so than spain thats why iam here tio...
cuidate asta leugo

You have a point, that offered food should be healthy, but anyway, mayonaisse is vey easily contamined with those germs in warm weather.

I wouldn't eat mayonaisse in Spain, or Cuba or Dhubai, or even in Brighton in summer, unless I was extremely confident of the restaurant's quality.

BTW, bloody stupid is not exactly good manners, is it?

After four years of running wine and tapas tours in Madrid I think I have sth to say. There are two basic rules to avoid ruining your holidays because of food poisoning:

1) ONLY EAT AT PLACES RECOMMENDED BY TRAVEL BOOKS
2) ONLY EAT AT PLACES THAT ARE ALWAYS PACKED WITH HAPPY CUSTOMERS

Other than that your chances of getting into trouble are real.

Andres

Of course I don't follow any of those and have never had salmonella or other illness, and I have eaten out dayly for over 15 years.

toni lionni wrote: That's ENOUGH! THIS KIND OF BEHAVIOR IS NOT TOLERATED HERE!!! How many warnings must I give you?

You have passed the threshold of my patience. We're/I'm tired of your negative venom here, toni lionni. Best of luck to you. Goodbye.

Oh-S0-Sincerely, MadridMan

FINALLY!!!! Holy Moly! He just woke up today and decided he wanted to see what kind of trouble he could stir up? Good Grief!

Thanks Madridman, I'm glad not to read that stuff anymore. Grulla.

Unfortunately Mr. lionni was trying to cause irritation simply for his amusement. It's kinda pathetic when your source of amusement is to annoy people.

Thanks, MM.

On three separate occassions I have suffered from food poisoning... and they all took place in the US. The first time was in an Italian restaurant in Albany, NY. I ate something I never eat (don't know why, til this day, I opted for it): meatballs. Spent 48 hours in the bathroom between kneeling and squatting.

The second time was in San Diego at the Marriott Hotel...I ate a roast duck dinner in the hotel restaurant. They, the hotel, rushed me to the hospital (and paid all expenses) for me to spend, again, 48 hours staring at porcelain.

The third time was when a week after returning from Spain 5 years ago. Notice...a week after returning from Spain. The fault was my own...I ate undercooked bacon (well, to be honest...it was raw...a habit I acquired since childhood and have since stopped for obvious reasons). BTW...this wasn't salmonella...but something considerably more severe...I became extremely dehydrated because of my incessant (every 10 minutes) runs to the bathroom (no pun here).

My point...food poisoning can happen anywhere. It can be, almost a certainty,with certain foods (mayonaise, for example, in a restaurant whether in Spain or elsewhere)or just plain old stupidity (eating raw fish or meat).

Sheryl

I have a bit of training with food safety and I would like to add a point of two.

1-Commercially made Mayonaise is not the problem. It has been made from pastuerised eggs and ph adjusted (acid and preservatives have been added) so it is not a good medium for pathogenic bacterial growth. Homemade can be a problem, but who makes mayo anymore?

2-The most hazardous foods are meat, poultry, fish, eggs and cooked rice. They are high in protein and moisture and low in acid. Shellfish have an additional problem in that they suck up contaminants from their surroundings. (They grow great right next to sewage drians!

3-Salmonella usually takes a minimum of 8 hours but up to 72 hours to incubate, so it can be hard to pinpoint exactly what made you sick.

In my experience in Spain I would say the most likely things to make you sick are tortillas (especially the ones that are rare in the middle) and paella that sit out at room temp all day. The easiest way to prevent salmonellosis is to heat it to 165 degrees. If you are worried have them heat your tortilla!

Sheryl:

One can get sick for eating raw meat? Or is it only with bacon? I mean, besides of bacterian infection.

I ask this because I have eaten raw meat sometimes (like steak tartar), and fish (like sushi) or just marinated in lime juice (peruvian cebiche). I was told by doctors (I think I recall) that raw food, if clean of bacteria, is better for your stomach and intestines, because it's richer in water. In fact, ,I think I have heard or read that the perfect diet for a person (non vegetarian) would be vegetablesand fruits and always raw meat and fish.

BTW: I did the raw bacon thing some times, I like it this way. But after all, it's not absolutely raw since it's smoked, like salmon or (somehow) our cured ham.

Mongo:

Athough restaurants need to use here commercial makes mayonaisse or a homemade product that I believe doesn't include egg, or maybe some egg powder, I dislike those. Maybe because the commercial ones are made with lemon instead of vinegar, and they have much more starch. Because of both matters I consider it not only less tasty but also a bit less healthy.

Thanks God some restaurants still have the traditional one, because we clients use to love it. Also, the best tortilla de patata is the one that has a tiny amount of its egg still liquid inside. It's more juicy. And of course, being egg liquid means it's raw, so it's more dangerous.

Egg is dangerous if there isn't an extremely clean manipulation AND there are hot temperatures. So, if you are absolutely sure (which is very difficult, because even at the best restaurants sometimes you see things...) it's a temptation you can't avoid.

As for "who makes mayo at home?" I do. At home or at my parents (At least if I am home) I always do mayo when needed, and everybody says it's great. One of the few things I can cook, i am afraid. Always very highienically, always in the fridge the ramains of the lunch or dinner, you can have it 4 days later or more without risk, and I have.

I consider myself a seasoned Spain traveler but I came home with Salmonella in June. I attribute it to a sopa de marisco I had at a Restaurant on the rua de Franco (aka Calle de los restaurantes) in Santiago de Compostela.

Maybe I should have remembered the old 'Don't eat shellfish in any month that doesn't have an 'r' in it.'

Yes, Iganacio, you can get food poisoning from eating raw or undercooked meats. There have been several outbreaks in the US over the past 10 years attributed to contaminated ground beef in hamburgers where they were not cooked to an internal temperature of at least 180 (or is it 165) degress farenheit. That made the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) require new labeling on meat packaging about how to cook meat and now you see lots of meat thermometers being sold! I know here in Madrid it is very common (I seen it at more than one VIPS and Fosters Hollywood)to routinely get a fairly rare burger unless you ask for it well-done, and even then it may well not have been cooked to the proper temperature.

Thanks, ChrisR. Then, there would be no problem with germs-clean raw food, and cooking is made to sterilize it. I see.

I personally don't usually have raw food but for some exceptions like the said tortilla (sometimes) and steaks (not very rare), but it's good to know.

Mahonese in Spain should (by law) always be industrial in resturants and bars. That kind is made with dehydrated and sterilized eggs.

I've eaten mahonese in summer in lots of places and never had a problem.

But food poisoning in Spain is common in summer. These are my rules:

1) Avoid natural water while in coastal and rural places.

2) Avoid eating in places were locals don't eat.

3) Never eat food that looks as if it has been cooked for hours.

4) Do never eat shellfish if it tastes bad. Take it out of your mouth inmediately. And never open shellfish that has not opened after being boiled.

5) If you are finally poisoned, complain to the restaurant (there are complain standard sheets everywhere by law) and go to police. You must have your rights protected.

Fernando

Andres wrote:
Quote:

2) ONLY EAT AT PLACES THAT ARE ALWAYS PACKED WITH HAPPY CUSTOMERS

I have subcribed to this rule and I have never had food poisoning in my travels.

Even in the Andes, where the restaurants were a tents covered with llama skins!

One can get sick for eating raw meat? Or is it only with bacon? I mean, besides of bacterian infection.

Ignacio-

Unfortunately, I am walking testimony and response to your question. Yes, you can get ill...quite ill.

Since the bacon incident...I know longer eat it. As to meat, I used to eat raw hamburger...not any more. It's not worth the aggrevation...and believe me...the aggrevation and illness is not worth it.

As to mayonaise...anything can go bad if left out of the refrigerator too long.

Sheryl

Interesting article from the University of North Dakota agricultural information department about Mayonnaise. If you don't believe me, maybe you will believe them?

Mayonnaise Article

In case you are answering me, which I am not sure of, what's your point? I quickly went through the article you posted, and it proves something we both agree, that mayonaisse previously contamined, in hot temperatures, is terribly dangerous.

What I say is that mayonaisse not contamined (good hygienic conditions) preserved in a cold environment is not dangerous even if you keep it in the fridge for almost a week.

Maybe MM can start to test prospective members so we don't have repeats of Tony and Pauly? Hmmm, notice that BOTH their board names END in "y!" Coincidence? Or correlation?! (My apologies to any board member in good standing whose board name ends in "y")! Maybe there is a niche market for all those poor souls who have been kicked off boards, a kind of "Welcome to H*LL" board?

Regarding the current topic, it occurs to me that people like Tony and Pauly are the web equivalent of salmonella in the egg salad!

I applaude Fernando's post and would ad another pointer of my own.

Always find out if the place you're visiting doesn't get its fresh fish supply a certain day of the week (just like Madrid's market, Mercamadrid, doesn't get it on Mondays), and avoid eating it until the next day.

I'm getting a stomach ache just reading this!