Drinking local water and eating localmproduce

I can’t speak for Poland but I have been drinking tap water, using ice and eating fresh/raw produce in Italy for nearly twenty years and have had no problems.

https://travel.state.gov/en/international-travel/travel-advisories/italy.html#health

Water quality and food safety

• Tap water in most parts of Italy is safe to drink and meets high safety standards.
  
• Bottled water is widely available and may be preferred by some travelers.
  
• In restaurants and hotels, bottled water is typically offered for purchase. Tap water may not be served unless you ask for it.
  
• Ice in beverages is generally made from potable water.

Same here
Tap water in Italy is drinkable and safe as well as water in many fountains-where you can fill your own water bottle
The tap water/fountain water/nasone water in Rome is especially good
Way better than many cities in US

Don’t know about Poland

Here is what the State Department says about water in Poland

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Poland.html

Water Quality

Food and water standards in Poland are similar to those in the United States. Most travelers do not need to take special food or water precautions beyond what they normally do at home.

kdzmom, because this is your FIRST POST on this board (welcome ... ), it would be nice to know a bit about your previous travels, the ages and number of children, and other travel dining factors. Italy and Poland don't pair particularly well. Is family history involved? Have you been to other parts of Europe before?

Your advisors are giving you advice left over from World War II. Most water mains in Western Europe are newer than those in most American big cities. My tony suburb, getting close to average home value $1,000,000 has "city" water that exceeds EPA limits for "Forever Chemicals", and will for at least another year, as we spend vast amounts of money to be repaid by us ratepayers to remedy the wells. We drink the water all over Europe.

From our host here:
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/health

(see caption on photo.)

NO. That “information” is not accurate.

All the other folks who have replied are correct.

I don’t know about Poland but drinking water in Italy is safe everywhere.

I, like many Italians, buy bottled water (preferably sparkling in my case) but it is perfectly safe to drink tap water or water from most public fountains (unless you see the sign NON POTABILE). Some cities have better tasting tap waters than others (the one in Rome is excellent) but safe it is.

For sure I use tap water to wash produce, for ice, and to brush my teeth.

...were advised to never drink tap water, use ice, or eat produce rinse in tap water. Is this accurate information?

Who/what was the source of this advice? What else did they/it say?

A source that says not to drink tap water in Italy, is one I find to be a questionable source for any information.

That is just so untrue. Poland water quality is top notch and it has been years since human waste was used in produce fertilizers. In 1967, 68, 69 I served in Germany and lived in the city. Yes water quality was good but our little one needed fluoride drops. It wasn’t added to the water. In many cases European Union standards exceeds American standards. Especially in food additives.

While the water is perfectly safe to drink, just like most places, tap water in one town may have a different taste than in another town. On our trips, since drive around to many places, many out in the country and in more remote locations where there are no water fountains, we buy a 5 or 6 liter bottle of water at the grocery store (about €1) and keep it in the car. We refill our water bottles from it rather than constantly buying small bottles of water at outrageous prices. If staying in one place for a few days, we just take the bottle into the hotel. On shorter trips where we don’t rent a vehicle we drink the tap water.

I think everyone has covered it well here, but I just wanted to point out that eating local produce is one of real reasons to visit Italy. Italians are fastidious locavores and pride themselves on 0km eating. If you tried to eliminate local produce in Italy you would be left the worst of the factory produced food from supermarkets you could find.

After many trips to Italy all I can encourage you to do is eat as locally as you can. I think that one look at the beauty of a local produce market in Italy would convince anyone to just dive in. Each region has their specialty produce from their area and their unique local recipes. Always opt for these when you have a chance and enjoy the cuisine of all areas of Italy.

Some amount of worry is expected but this is not one area you need to worry about things, have a great trip,
=Tod

One more thing. Many of the fountains in town the water is drinkable. The fountains will have a little sign on them warning you if they’re not safe.

I'll add that drinking the perfectly safe tap water is much better for the environment than drinking bottled and plastic disposable water.

You should probably ignore any advice from that person. They don't know what they're talking about.

I have been to both Italy and Poland numerous times. I drink the water, use ice, have salads......never got sick.

I have to wonder if the people giving you advice have ever been to Europe or if they have, this century.

I’ve stayed in 49 cities in Italy and have never been sick. And I frequently have one of their delicious salads, etc.

Ice isn’t commonly added to drinks, so this also makes me wonder about the validity of advice from this source.

Have a wonderful trip!

Tap Water in all european countries have to be safe for drinking. This is the law and it is tested every day.
And eating local products, fruits, vegetables, is safe anyway.

Drinking public water from fountains in Italy is not only safe, it's expected. I relied on the app Drinking Fountains in Italy. It was a life and money saver!

What's not expected is to ask for tap water in restaurants and similar establishments. Why? Italians take their bottled water seriously. You'll be served still, sparkling, or naturally sparkling. It really does taste better!

We were in Poland last fall for 2 weeks. No issues with the water or the ice. The same with Italy on several occasions.

I would be more concerned about the vampires and werewolves that roam the countryside after dark. We buy a life insurance policy for this from the Vatican.

We did a tour of Poland in 1989 when Poland was still communist, and the water was NOT drinkable, by today others say it is good.
We drink tap water in Western Europe with no problems.

Places NOT to drink the tap water are third world countries as well as Russia, China, etc.

@ acechrist: you made my day and gave me a strong loughter.
@ geovagriffith: fortunately these days have gone long before. Nowadays Poland is, als all european countries, safe, it if come to water, food or crime.

I'd like to politely request we stop the usage of the term "third world country" on this forum, which I've seen pop up a few times recently. It's a very outdated term and can be construed as offensive to people living in these countries. More accurate and current terms are global south or lower/middle income countries. This request is intended kindly to educate rather than call anyone out, and I hope is taken that way.

I didn't drink the water in Venice in 1985 and still had bad stomach cramps that ruined a beautiful ride through the Swiss Alps. I also got sick in Russia in 1990 when I ate some wonderful tasting fresh tomatoes. After Russia, we went to Warsaw, were given no warnings about their food or water, and had no sickness. Those are the only times I've gotten sick while traveling to Europe 16 times, Guatemala 3 times, and Ecuador once, but of course we didn't drink the local water or eat fresh produce in the last two. My point being, that I got sick in Venice even though we followed all the guidelines. Venice is also the nastiest place I've ever been. It was August and the canals smelled like sewage.

”More accurate and current terms are global south or lower/middle income countries. This request is intended kindly to educate rather than call anyone out, and I hope is taken that way.”

Cat VH, I appreciate your post as I do try to be sensitive to others, and many here feel the same. But, wow, I would never feel comfortable using “global south”. That term immediately feels like I am being offensive to people residing in the southern hemisphere, i.e. sort of a North America/Europe looking down our nose at others - whew! To a lesser degree, using it feels similar to hearing someone saying something negative about southern Italy compared to northern Italy. (I’m returning to southern Italy for the 3rd year in a row.)

Thanks, Jean, and I appreciate your reply! I see what you mean about the connotations "south" can have for many people. I certainly wouldn't want to encourage anyone to use a term that makes them uncomfortable, but just to reassure you it's (at least currently) a pretty well accepted term used in the international development sector, and you can see more about where it came from in this wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_North_and_Global_South

Of course language, and what is considered polite, evolves over time so there may come a time this term falls out of favour as well.

My grandmother was from northern Italy and my grandfather was from southern Italy, so I totally understand the divide you're talking about- it's real!

@Cat VH,

; )