avoiding food poisoning

[Joyfulsnuff]

We are planning meals that will be buffet or sit down dining during our upcoming trip in December. We usually eat food court or counter service meals on our trips (other than Chef Mickeys), so many of the meals we are considering will be new to us. I am wondering if food poisoning happens frequently at WDW and do you do things yourself to help prevent it from happening to you. Like do you avoid certain foods or later meal times (in case the food is not fresh)? I know food poisoning can happen anywhere and we have never had it happen to us at WDW but I was curious to know if there is anything you do to protect yourself and your family from it.

 

[ez]

of food poisoning incidents at disney, but I have to say, we live an hour away and go over several times a year, eating out constantly, and we have never had a problem. I don't think your chances of getting it there are any more than if you went out locally. Best of luck to you.

 

[hercamore]

Hi,

Wherever I go, if we are eating at a buffet, I avoid the salad dressings and sometimes the mayo based salads. I know these can be potential troublemakers.

we have vacationed in over 25 states and never had a problem, knock on wood here!

 

[MickeyisanNDfan]

Your chance of getting food poisoning at DW is no greater than running out to the local McDonalds. I think a lot of poeple might be quick to claim food poinsoning when it is actually when you travel you are just eating a lot of different foods and much more than you are used to. I have been to DW on 16 different vacations and have never gotten food poisoning. I wouldn't worry about it at all.

 

[GEM]

We've been there 12 times and eaten at pretty much every place - sit downs, buffets, counter serivice, etc. We've never had any problems at all. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[CarolAnnC]

Any restaurant carries a potential risk. This past week, a person caught Hepatitis traced to a local Taco Bell here.
In my many WDW trips I can say I have never gotten sick from the food there. My regular heartburn, but no food poisoning, lol.

 

[jsmith]

I avoid the salad dressings and sometimes the mayo based salads. I know these can be potential troublemakers.

Actually-mayo is very high in acid and is rarely the cause of food poisioning-mostly like culprits-potatoes, rice and pasta. Their starch/sugar make up is ideal for bacterial growth. These things, kept at improper temps should always be the first suspects and if you are trying to avoid food poisioning at a buffet-skip potato and pasta salads first.

 

[chamonix]

When eating at buffets, the most likely cause of getting sick would be nasty germs on the handles of the serving implements. People use them to serve themselves, and uh, you have no idea when the general public person has last washed his or her hands--unlike a kitchen staff person. We always wash our hands after serving ourselves from a buffet but before eating--and we never touch our food or faces with hands we have touched the utensils with. When we go to sit down restaurants we wash when we first come in and are seated, at buffets, we wash our hands after we have been to the buffet and served ourselves. We do use the antibiotic gel stuff before we serve ourselves though, and sometimes wash before and after, it just depends. I have thought about using a napkin to touch the serving utensils with, but thought people would think I was nuts. Just remember all the people you see who walked out of the restroom without washing their hands? They served themselves with that spoon at the buffet right before you walked up. EEWWW!
Honestly we try to avoid buffets most of the time, LOL! Do what you can to be safe, but you will most likely be fine.

 

[pammy1027]

Something I've just recently learned is that you are more prone to Food poisoning is you are already starting with some sort of virus. If anyone in your group is already a bit ill, then I'd stay away from buffets all together, otherwise, just enjoy yourselves and don't worry!

 

[Belle5]

We try to be the first seated for a buffet. (If it opens at 5 pm we try to have that seating or we don't go.) The times we have broken our little rule we have usually ended up with problems.
I agree with everything chamonix said about handles being the culprits. That's why we only do buffets if we can be one of the first through the line. Avoid the kids section of the buffet if you are not the first. If you don't know what I mean just stand back and watch what kids do at their end of the buffet and what they do to the dessert (especially cookie) section.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

We have never had any problems at WDW, and have eaten at all the different types of food-service. In fact, even on the "Eat at Your Own Risk" scare-special they had last month on CBS it was remarked that WDW goes above and beyond in the cleanliness dept., and this was a show where they were trying to slam WDW!!

Also, I have noticed at all the buffets we have tried at WDW, the chefs are constantly out with their little thermometers, and quickly remove anything that doesn't meet their standards.

Go and have fun, that's my advice!!

 

[honeymom]

I've gotten tomaine poisoning from mayo (not at Disney). You should absolutely avoid mayo based products. What previous poster said is not correct.

 

[epcotfan]

When eating at buffets, the most likely cause of getting sick would be nasty germs on the handles of the serving implements.

I totally agree. I've been sick twice at WDW and now I avoid all the Disney buffets. You are most likely to get sick from someone's filthy hands touching the shared utensils of a buffet. I recall a story about a woman who changed her baby's diaper in Chef Mickey's and then went straight to the buffet without washing her hands. Some people on these boards have seen children pick up items out of the buffet, taste/lick them, and then put it back.
I prefer the a la carte restaurants. The less people handling my cutlery and food the better!

 

[epcotfan]

Oh, forgot to add, hot food should be served hot and cold food should be cold. Improper food temperatures can cause spoilage which can lead to food poisoning.

 

[jsmith]

I've gotten tomaine poisoning from mayo (not at Disney). You should absolutely avoid mayo based products. What previous poster said is not correct.

I said mayo was rarely not never the cause of food poisioning-and was the mayo on potato salad? Any food left at an improper temp for long enough will make you sick-however as I said starches were the most frequent cause not the only cause-3 food scientists in my family-I stand by mayo being a less likely cause than potatoes. Most people who get sick from potato or Macaroni salad blame mayo-but it is usually innocent.

 

[gopherit]

I agree about the mayo thing being iffy -- yes, mayo can spoil, but equivalently, the stuff it is used on can spoil, as well. I think meats (like chicken) are particularly risky. And you are probably better off ordering from a menu (in that the food is more likely to have been freshly prepared just for you). If you do a buffet, go for the earliest seating, while the food is fresh and hot.

I think too that some folks are much more susceptible to food poisoning. My dh and middle child are always the ones to get any stomach flu going around, and always 10 times worse than anyone in our family (usually they end up hospitalized). I have a niece the same way -- yet her sister is not. And I'm not afraid to say I hardly ever ever get these things -- I'm 38 and it just doesn't typically happen to me. DH, in contrast, has landed in the ER at least 4 times and hospitalized twice. DS spent 4 days hospitalized at age 3 for same type thing... like father, like son. But it appears at least the our eldest and dd have thankfully inherited either my resistance or sheer luck -- call it what you will! When we go to Disney, I am the police, kinda "overseeing" who eats what and where! Just wish I could have caught my son before he ate those chicken nuggets at a certain WDW restaurant. It was the only thing different he ate that day from the rest of us, and I'll always wonder that's what caused his gastric undoing later that day. Of course, we eat out maybe once every 2-4 weeks at home; you have to expect higher odds of any illness when you're traveling, if based on nothing more than the sheer VOLUME of opportunities! And typically too you try foods you wouldn't normally, you're drinking different water, you're probably not resting as much as one should; perhaps you even allow yourself to become dehydrated in the Florida sun. All that added together and it's not surprising folks get ill now and then around the 'World.

THis is yet another reason I'm so glad we joined DVC -- at least some of our meals can be cooked in the villa, where I know exactly how fresh everything is! That has been a big lifesaver (and $$ saver!) for our family of 5, as it cuts us back to eating out every other dinner. Definitely improves our odds for escaping a vacation trip with no stomach upsets!

 

[sha_lyn]

agree about the mayo thing being iffy -- yes, mayo can spoil, but equivalently, the stuff it is used on can spoil, as well.

As jsmith said it is very unlikely that Mayo is to blame. It is even less likely to be the case with commercial mayo (vs homemade). The mayo myth has been around so long that people will continue to repeat it, even when science does not back it up.

 

[Epcotgal8]

This thread is making me cringe. I love my mother in law a lot but the whole family realizes she is senile and even when she wasn't she did things that made me nervous. My DH is one of 7 kids, all 7 have spouses and there are 13 grandchildren. We all gather together at holidays and for cookouts in the summer. On many occasions she leaves out food items on the picnic table like potato salad, macaroni salad, deviled eggs, etc. for hours in the Louisiana heat. On Thanksgiving she leaves the turkey, dressing and everything out on the table so people can take leftovers home. I have told my children that once dinner is over not to eat anymore and as much as I would love those leftovers that evening I just don't trust it. Now one of us makes an extra turkey, extra dressing etc. because we have no idea how long hers has been sitting before we arrive that day. I try to do my part and I put things in the fridge when we're done eating but I'll turn around and she's put it back out! LOL. If that's not bad enough my best friend who is half of mil's age is just as bad. One day we met for lunch and enjoyed a very leisurely time. We were there for at least an hour and a half. Then she suggested we stop at a dept. store and spent about 30 minutes there. I said I needed to be heading home and she said, "Yes, me too since I have to unload my groceries." I said, "You have GROCERIES in your car??" "What did you buy?" Keep in mind this is the SUMMER in Louisiana. In the mid 90's in temp. She opened her trunk and had MILK, EGGS, and CHICKEN among other non-perishables. I told her that she was going to poison her family and to throw those things away. She later told me that she kept the things and nobody got sick. I told her that we needed to talk lol. She also would defrost meat in the kitchen window that gets full sun and didn't know that was bad either until I told her. Sorry this was so long but I think I might be safer dining out than at my friend's house. I know it sounds mean but...

 

[Joyfulsnuff]

Wow! Thanks so much for your great advice. We have never had a problem while at WDW but I have read some food poisoning threads here and I wondered how everyone felt about it. It actually freaks me out more thinking about the people that went through the buffet line before me than the actual food poisoning. I also carry hand sanitizer with me so we can use it. I was thinking that we need a Bad Sanitary Habits.com to go along with Bad Shoes.com. We could all take pictures of people doing unsanitary things just like Zurg has pictures of all the bad shoes.

 

[mmausse]

Having just returned from Disney and having contracted food poisoning, for sure, it's not just the mayo.

I ate a hot dog at Casey's Corner with sauerkraut, relish & mustard. It was all I ate that day. I willsay that the sauerfraut, I thought, smelled a little funny, but I thought it was just the area in general. I ate it at 215. By 6pm I was throwing up and other things as well. This continued non-stop for 4 hours at which point I called the front desk and they called 9-1-1. I was afraid of dehydration.

At the hospital I met half a dozen other people who were there at the same time at CC and were having the same reaction.

The hospital contacted the health department.

The diagnosis: Food poisoning.

I spent the next 4 days in my hotel room worn out, dehydrated, and afraid to eat or drink. It is NOT a fun experience. It Does happen. I doubt I will ever eat another hot dog or sauerkraut ever again.