WESH.com reported that a Delta Airlines flight headed to Atlanta from Ecuador made an emergency stop in Orlando today after three passengers’ food poisoning symptoms became severe and they required medical attention.  According to WESH, two of the three passengers were transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center for treatment for food poisoning, while the third passenger declined treatment.   

Last May, I was in Thailand suffering a severe bout of food poisoning.  My friends and I were staying at Railei, just a short boat ride from Krabi, where, as Colin reported yesterday, a Seattle woman recently died after suffering a bout of food poisoning.  Fortunately for me, after 48 hours of violent illness I made a slow recovery.  My travel companions were kind enough to delay our travel plans until I was able to ride a boat and bus for prolonged periods, and for that I am thankful.  Had we needed to board a plane, it may have been a different story and I may have been the passenger requesting an emergency landing.

To the right is a photo of a friend’s dinner the night we stayed in Krabi. 

An experienced traveler’s tip:  food that is beautifully presented and tastes scrumptious is not necessarily safe.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides information about safe food and water for travelers.  Following all of these precautions may not prevent every foodborne illness at home or abroad, but the recommendations can certainly go a long way to keeping you healthy and out of the hospital. 

The same can be said for food prepared at your neighborhood restaurant or in your own kitchen.  This summer, be particularly careful to prevent cross-contamination of ready-to-eat foods with raw meat, scrub melons such as cantaloupes with a brush before cutting into them, use separate plates for raw and cooked meats, and always use a food thermometer to ensure the temperature of foods you are grilling is hot enough to kill pathogens.