The surprising foods that experts warn you not to eat on holiday

A FOOD expert has warned tourists about the dangers of eating certain foods abroad.

However, unlike others before him, this expert isn’t just warning about dodgy looking street food, or questionable meat.

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Instead, he’s told holidaymakers to give fruit and veg a swerve when they’re abroad.

Dr. Kyle Staller, director of the Gastrointestinal Motility Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, has advised people that certain vegetables and fruits could be a bad choice.

In certain countries, he said they can also be the source of tummy bugs, alongside uncooked meat and fish.

He told Outside: “Fresh, unprocessed, and highly nutritious foods like vegetables and fruits will most likely get you sick in a country without rigorous sanitation standards.”

He specifically warned against eating lettuce, as well as produce that “doesn’t have peelable skin.”

Dr Staller has some rules that people can use when they’re abroad to work out where is and isn’t a good place to eat.

One of those is looking for places with a long queue.

He said it’s both a sign of quality food and it means that ingredients are being used quicker, leaving them less chance of going bad.

He continued: “When there’s a high degree of turnover with diners, ingredients are being used versus sitting in a refrigerator that might have an unreliable power supply.

“Foods left out for long periods, especially in humid environments, are more likely to put the eater at risk of developing food poisoning.”

Dr Staller isn’t the only expert to have advised travellers what they should steer clear of when they’re abroad.

Raw meat and seafood are a “big no-no” when heading to certain spots, according to Vanessa Rissetto, a registered dietitian and co-founder and CEO of Culina Health.

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She said: “We can’t source where they came from, how long they’ve been out, and how they’ve been handled.”

Meanwhile, the NHS Fit for Travel guide notes that fish and shellfish can be hazardous even if well cooked.

It also said holidaymakers should avoid any meat that is still red or pink, or has red or pink juices.

Meanwhile, these are the six foods you should never eat at a hotel buffet.

And you should always dodge these five foods at airports.

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