Expedition Food Hygiene
If, like me, you are an avid reader of expedition books and blogs, whether the "expedition" is an extended solo walk through Britain or a first ascent in the Himalaya, you will surely have come across the almost inevitable description of someone getting the runs, the trots, Delhi belly, Montezuma's revenge, the Aztec two-step...
Inevitable? Well, no, not necessarily! Good food hygiene practices will go a long way to ensuring you stay healthy. Ensuring that the water you drink and the food you eat are not contaminated, especially with faecal matter, is crucial.
I've discussed water purification in another part of this Useful Info section of our website.
For food, we need to take care over the food itself, cooking and eating. Using cook in the pouch meals obviously removes a lot of uncertainty about the safety of the food you eat, and what you eat it from. Less washing up means less to get contaminated. Of course, you could douse absolutely everything with antibacterial wash, but there's a middle way of common sense between carelessness and paranoia!
Because faecal matter is such a potent nasty, how we go to the loo in the outdoors has a lot to do with our health, as well as taking care of the environment. A lot has been written on this topic (someone even devoted a whole book to it...) and opinions vary on what is necessary, what is best and what is practical, but it's worthy of serious thought.
If you lead groups, are planning an expedition, or just want to get up to speed for your own good, it could well help to go on an expedition food hygiene course, such as those run by Helen Littlejohn at Cookout: half a day or a day of your time learning from an expert could save countless hours of Googling!