Food

  • Basic hygiene rules: wash your hands before eating
  • Avoid dishes that are raw or not thoroughly cooked
  • Eat fruits and vegetables if they have previously been peeled and washed in pure water
  • Raw vegetables should be washed in a sterilizing solution (product sold in Bolivian pharmacies)
  • Avoid sea fish and sea food (imported from neighboring countries). However, take some time to taste local fish like salmon-trout and carachis from lake Titicaca; pacus, pejerreys and piranhas from tropical rivers.
  • Empty the content of tins into a clean plastic storage container (e.g. Tupperware) if it has to be stored in the fridge
  • Avoid ice creams that are sold in the street (refrigeration is unreliable)
  • Avoid cooked meals sold in the street (hygiene is uncertain)
  • Dairy products are safe if they are pasteurized, packed and correctly refrigerated. Do not eat or drink products made from raw (unpasteurized) milk
  • Diseases caused by contaminated food: hepatitis A, salmonellosis (typhoid), cholera, turista (diarrhoea).

Digestion is not easy at high altitude (like La Paz or any Andean region). Avoid any excess of food and limit intake of fried food during the few days after your arrival. Let your body acclimatize slowly to the new environment.

 

Beverages

  • Drink beverages sold in sealed bottles, and check that the seal is unbroken
  • Tap water should be boiled at least for 10 minutes (20 minutes recommended at high altitude)
  • For adventure tourism, treat the water with sterilizing products (sold in Bolivian pharmacies)
  • Hot beverages (coffee, tea, mate de coca) are generally safe to drink
  • Avoid ice cubes, except if made from pure or treated water
  • Although the contamination risk with tap water is low, it is better to brush your teeth with mineral water
  • Diseases caused by contaminated beverages: amoebiasis, typhoid, cholera, turista (diarrhea)
  • Be careful while swimming in tropical rivers or lakes; It may be contaminated with germs that cause gastrointestinal problems (some of which may be severe)