I'm willing to take the hit and buy bags of mixed seafood at the supermarket. Buffet? I dun tink so.
- Thread starter MiamiDRGuy
- Start date
Food poisoning at Royalton Punta Cana
Yes AI Buffets are where you can easily get it. Especially an outdoor or poolside one. Avoid at all costs................
Actually, she (Maria) is correct. These "viruses" spread fairly quickly from person to person due to people not washing their hands, not covering their mouths when they sneeze/cough, etc. Are there cases due to food contamination because of uncareful workers, of course. But by in large most of the viruses are passed on person to person.
When you at the Buffet Line ,.. just Visualize yourself kissing every person working on that Line .
So if you find one or 2 particularly disgusting .. best to Walk away ..
I have seen people literally wipe their Noses and continue serving food . NO Gloves .
...And that is why if you are going to an AI, you find one where the workers serve the food chosen by the guest behind glass partitions, not one where each guest serves themselves using the same utensils that could potentially pass on any virus or may have fallen to the ground and picked up and reused.
Not that even that method is foolproof, but you do reduce the chances of contracting or passing along a virus.
On the other hand, food contamination, salmonella, etc., no matter what resort, can be prevalent depending upon the resorts food handling and safety protocols. The resorts do not incur outside safety and food handling inspections that might help them identify issues before they become problems.
Perhaps there are others, but the only AI resort that I am aware of that serves guests at the buffet from behind glass partitions is Hyatt Ziva.
Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
Thank you for correcting me. I would like to clarify that I meant in hygiene in food preparation rather than personal hygiene.
I agree on the points about guests in AIs, thats also why I avoid AIs or shared pools. Too much of a hassle to get sick during a vacation in paradise.
I'm here at the Viva Heavens in PP and there are hand sanitizers everywhere. I didn't think about it until I read your post, but it makes a ton of sense.
Didn’t mind eating at the AI buffets but I always arrived as soon as they opened. If the resort was full on the weekend, I aways ate at the ala carte speciality restaurants. Never had a problem with food poisoning. Felt queasy once after eating a bowl of fish soup for lunch. Never did that again. Ate at the small bars and cafes on lots of beaches, La Isabella, Luperon, etc. and was never ill. As delicious as the fresh roasted pig smells as you drive by the vendors on the country roads, I’ve never indulged. Was on a catamaran cruise that departed Playa Dorada and cruised to Sosua and back. People were foolish enough to eat mayonnaise saturated food laying out in the hot sun on the deck.
The only mass food poisoning incident I’ve ever seen was in Morocco years ago. Group of us went to a casbah cafe and some were foolish enough to eat a stewed beef and prunes dish. Next day we were crossing the Atlas Mountains and stopping every 20 minutes to let those with severe diarrhea squat by the roadside and do what they had to do. The danger of course is dehydration. Many were reaching that point when we pulled into our overnight stop.
Some risks are obvious and you simply avoid them.
The only mass food poisoning incident I’ve ever seen was in Morocco years ago. Group of us went to a casbah cafe and some were foolish enough to eat a stewed beef and prunes dish. Next day we were crossing the Atlas Mountains and stopping every 20 minutes to let those with severe diarrhea squat by the roadside and do what they had to do. The danger of course is dehydration. Many were reaching that point when we pulled into our overnight stop.
Some risks are obvious and you simply avoid them.
Stayed there years ago. Decent resort. Lifestyles operated it for a while to provide food and accommodations for their clients who wanted golf packages at Playa Dorada. Never had a food problem at Blue Bay just up the road and, even though the former Puerto Plata Village resort was only a three star, I never had a food problem there. I spent months there at a time.
tourists from far away don’t usually have immunity to tropical bacterias.
First year here I got very sick twice: from arroz con pollo (moto delivery) then pizza with ham (moto delivery). Then I got immunity. Doc said careful with day old rice. And salads!
Since then not sick from food in 12 years.
I have seen a buffet being prepared here where the lobsters were left in hot sun, for couple hours, a big display of lobsters, only ones at bottom touched ice. Then eaten. Not by me.
First year here I got very sick twice: from arroz con pollo (moto delivery) then pizza with ham (moto delivery). Then I got immunity. Doc said careful with day old rice. And salads!
Since then not sick from food in 12 years.
I have seen a buffet being prepared here where the lobsters were left in hot sun, for couple hours, a big display of lobsters, only ones at bottom touched ice. Then eaten. Not by me.
Norovirus is often the culprit exacerbated but the use of alcohol gel hand sanitizer that is not sufficient to reduce it. One must wash properly with soap and water. https://www.cdc.gov/clean-hands/about/hand-sanitizer.html#:~:text=Hand sanitizers might not remove,difficile, as well as chemicals.
I saw a woman who had clearly just had a very stinky poo emerge from the cubicle, not wash her hands, put on lipstick and then as she walked out she put her hands on her man's face and kissed him. I so wanted to say something to him.
Pick up the tongs with a napkin, that will help hugely if you are worried. Viruses live easily on hard plastic. If you spray the napkin with some sanitiser that helps too.
The last time I got really sick from food poisoning was when I went to the north coast, we stopped at a roadside place, I went to pee and there was no soap to wash my hands. I asked for some and they said they'd run out. I asked if there was a separate toilet for staff and they said no. But stupidly I went ahead and ate there, and gosh I was so ill I thought I was going to die. Lesson learnt. Check the toilets when you arrive at a restaurant, if there isn't any soap then move on.
What could I not be more wrong about? If you're going to post a comment like that, at least please explain what you mean.
"Check the Restaurants Bathroom before you eat there"
That is a PRO Tip right there ..
Tt wont get better than what you see in their Bathroom..
Also happens at some of the so-called higher-class establishments. A few years ago, we were in the ZC having dinner. I was standing at the sink area in the bathroom, a lady came out of the stall, no stop at the sink to wash her hands, nothing, just left. And no, she was not a local.
Given the many reasons for food poisoning it seems a little biased to place most of the blame on the victims. For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat and wrong.
There is a difference between placing blame on customers and on victims. Customers not using common sense hygiene can cause other customers to become victims. Yes, some of those victims may be guilty too of poor hygiene practices. I just now thought of this...probably a very good idea to use hand sanitizer after filling your plate at a buffet, as it's your hands touching the serving tongs and could be contaminated. Sanitize them before beginning to eat.
Lets forget about not cooked or reheated properly, improper storage, left out too long, handled by staff who are ill, handled by staff who don't wash their hands, food after its best before date and not reheating cooked food well enough. Surely one can add plastic tongs to the list but that is the culprit with the easiest solution. Disposable gloves and mission accomplished.
Understood, but these AI's are multi-million pound businesses owned by international chains, and the Ministry of Tourism does do random inspections very often. I have worked in hospitality for many years in DR and I just don't see these unhygienic practices, certainly not in big places. Obviously there are lapses and the AI buffet model is probably the least hygienic way to serve food in any country, but I don't think DR is any worse than other countries.