If You Want To Avoid Getting Sick Before Your Flight, Experts Say You Should Stay Away From These 5 Airport Foods

Many bare travelers crook to airdrome grab-and-go nutrient earlier flights, but if you privation to debar getting sick earlier hopping connected a plane, you whitethorn privation to deliberation doubly astir your choices.

For example, nutrient and beverage items tin go contaminated with harmful bacteria if they’re not kept astatine due temperatures oregon handled successful cleanable conditions — and you whitethorn not cognize however well-regulated airdrome nutrient is. Even if these items don’t needfully sensation oregon odor bad, you tin inactive get sick from them, according to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. And that’s the past happening you privation happening earlier you committee a flight.

“Once consumables get astatine [airport] work areas, they indispensable beryllium decently stored, thawed, and prepared, with strict adherence to nutrient information protocols,” explained Francine Shaw, laminitis of Savvy Food Safety Inc. and a nutrient information advisor who spent years inspecting airdrome facilities. “Otherwise, the hazard of foodborne unwellness increases with each step.”

We talked to nutrient information experts astir which nutrient and portion items they thin to skip erstwhile astatine the airdrome — and safer options they opt for instead.

Fountain Drinks And Iced Tea 

Because fountain portion machines and iced beverage dispensers are peculiarly hard to clean, they tin beryllium “breeding grounds for unsafe bacteria,” said Darin Detwiler, a nutrient information adept and prof astatine Northeastern University.

“In high-traffic areas similar airports, wherever machines dispense drinks constantly, the hazard is adjacent greater,” helium explained. “While stainless alloy urns and soda dispensers whitethorn look spotless … a sticky furniture of bacteria and mold often accumulates inside, particularly successful spigots, nozzles and syrup lines.”

Tea dispensers person a sugary, damp situation that tin provender the maturation of E. coli, salmonella and adjacent Legionella, which tin pb to a terrible pneumonia called Legionnaires’ disease, helium said. Also owed to the “enclosed, damp interiors” of fountain machines, it tin beryllium hard to get escaped of bacteria similar listeria and pseudomonas. These tin beryllium peculiarly unsafe for radical with compromised immune systems, large women, and older adults.

What’s a safer alternative? He recommends bottled, sealed drinks. Hot java oregon beverage is besides mostly a bully enactment due to the fact that boiling h2o minimizes the hazard of bacteria.

“[But] beryllium cautious with the beverage [or] pick if it is unfastened and sitting astatine country temperature,” Shaw added. Perishable items, similar milk, should not beryllium near retired astatine country somesthesia for much than 2 hours, according to the FDA.

Prepackaged Sandwiches And Salads

“These often beryllium astatine unsafe temperatures for extended periods, expanding the hazard of bacterial growth,” Detwiler said. “I person seen this excessively galore times astatine the convenience stores wrong airports.”

Especially beryllium alert if these grab-and-go items are kept successful a refrigeration portion without a doorway due to the fact that the temperatures whitethorn not beryllium acold enough, Shaw added.

Ellen Shumaker, manager of outreach for the Safe Plates programme astatine North Carolina State University, doesn’t bargain a prepared crockery if she’s not going to devour it close away.

“Cut leafy greens, chopped tomatoes, and chopped melons tin person perchance harmful bacteria turn and origin unwellness if kept astatine country somesthesia for longer than 4 hours,” she said.

She besides avoids salads and sandwiches if they incorporate immoderate earthy sprouts. Because they are grown successful warm, humid conditions, they are apt to incorporate bacteria, similar E. coli, salmonella and listeria, according to the FDA.

So what prepackaged foods question well? Shaw recommends snacks that are sealed and person a longer support life, similar nuts, granola bars, and dried fruit. If you privation to person much power implicit your snack options and walk little money, you tin ever bring your own, Detwiler suggested.

Fruit Cups

Pre-cut effect from a grab-and-go antagonistic oregon successful the airdrome lounge whitethorn look similar a steadfast option, but it tin beryllium risky if not handled properly.

“Once effect is sliced, its protective tegument is removed, exposing it to bacteria from handling, processing, and storage,” Detwiler explained. “If not kept astatine due refrigeration temperatures, chopped effect tin go a breeding crushed for listeria … arsenic good arsenic E. coli and salmonella from improper handling.”

As a substitute, effort caller effect that inactive has the peel connected it.

“Wrapped uncut apples, unpeeled oranges, oregon bananas are people sealed and little apt to beryllium contaminated,” Shaw said.

Unpasteurized Juices And Dairy Products

Similar to effect cups, bacteria from nutrient tin extremity up successful fresh-squeezed juices if they’re not pasteurized, according to the FDA. (Pasteurized means they’ve gone done a heating process that kills harmful bacteria.)

“Juices labeled arsenic ‘unpasteurized’ oregon ‘cold-pressed’ whitethorn look appealing for their freshness, but they airs a higher hazard of contamination with E. coli, salmonella, and listeria, particularly if they’ve been sitting astatine improper temperatures,” Detwiler said.

The aforesaid goes for unpasteurized dairy products, similar earthy beverage oregon cheese, and yogurt made from earthy milk.

“I besides debar caller smoothies … since I tin ne'er beryllium definite astir the cleanliness of the vendor oregon of the ingredients, truthful I similar to play it harmless portion traveling,” added Bryan Quoc Le, a nutrient idiosyncratic and nutrient subject consultant.

Alternatively, look for juices and beverage products that are sealed, refrigerated and labeled arsenic “pasteurized,” Detwiler advised.

Sushi Or Raw Seafood  

“Maintaining harmless temperatures for earthy food successful an airdrome mounting tin beryllium challenging,” Detwiler said. “Unlike dedicated sushi restaurants that support strict handling procedures, airdrome sushi whitethorn person been sitting for hours, expanding the hazard of parasites, vibrio, and listeria.”

If you’re looking for a macromolecule option, helium recommends afloat cooked seafood dishes (like grilled shrimp oregon salmon), cooked meats (like grilled chicken), oregon a plant-based protein.

Le besides prefers hot, cooked options astatine the airport, similar pizza and blistery sandwiches, oregon thing that tin beryllium kept astatine country temperature, similar breads oregon pastries.

“When successful doubt, opt for hot, cooked foods alternatively than acold oregon earthy options,” Detwiler said. “Higher temperatures assistance trim the beingness of harmful bacteria.”

Don’t hide to wage attraction to the wide quality and cleanliness of the nutrient vendor oregon restaurant. 

“I would urge avoiding immoderate places that don’t look to beryllium kept cleanable due to the fact that this could beryllium an indicator of different issues,” Shumaker said.

Red flags that Shaw watches retired for see mediocre idiosyncratic hygiene (like erstwhile workers don’t lavation their hands oregon deterioration gloves), sticky floors and tables, low-quality ingredients, pests (like insects oregon rodents), and antagonistic reviews connected societal media.

Detwiler besides avoids eating nutrient from the airdrome nutrient tribunal that are not usually a portion of the restaurant’s menu, specified arsenic breakfast.

“This is their accidental to summation gross and astir apt comes with foods oregon procedures that are not a portion of their mean operating procedures [or] standards,” helium said.

One last note: Don’t underestimate washing your hands.

“One origin that galore radical apt place erstwhile eating portion traveling is the cleanliness of their ain hands,” Le said.

Thousands of radical interaction the aforesaid airdrome surfaces each day, from handles to elevator buttons to doorknobs, Shumaker added. When traveling, she washes her hands arsenic often arsenic possible, particularly earlier she eats. It’s besides important to cognize that manus sanitizer doesn’t enactment against norovirus, truthful hand-washing is truly astir effective.

“[Hand-washing] tin greatly trim the chances of ingesting immoderate microorganisms that tin marque you sick, and is conscionable arsenic important arsenic the benignant of nutrient that you devour astatine the airport,” Le said.This nonfiction primitively appeared on HuffPost.

Hungry for more? Download our escaped Tasty app to browse and prevention 7,500+ escaped recipes — nary subscription required.