Food hygiene on the trail: hands, leftovers, washing up

Many stomach bugs are transmitted via tiny traces of faeces: they reach the mouth via hands, surfaces and food. A single unwashed grab into a shared snack bag can be enough for several people to become infected. On the trail there is no fridge, running water or dishwasher. That is why the rules start right at the source.

The second big danger is lukewarm leftovers. Bacteria multiply quickly in warm food, and some spores survive cooking. A pot of rice from the evening that stood overnight in a warm tent is therefore not a good idea for breakfast. The WHO sums up the basic rules in its “Five Keys”: keep clean, separate raw and cooked, cook thoroughly, keep food at safe temperatures and use safe water.

The surroundings need protection too: food scraps, soap and washing-up water in a stream or lake burden plants and animals and contaminate the water for everyone who drinks from it later. That is why washing up belongs well away from the bank.

Hands are washed before cooking and eating and after using the toilet – with soap and a little water, away from the water body. It is practical if a second person pours a cup of water from the bottle over your hands. If no water is available, hand sanitiser is the second-best solution.

Shared supplies are poured, not grabbed: nuts, dried fruit or crisps go into an open hand, rather than all fingers going into the bag. Water bottles are not shared. In groups it helps to appoint one person to serve food who washes their hands first, while everyone else does not help themselves.

Cook only as much as will be eaten. Cooked leftovers are not left standing without cooling for hours or overnight. To wash up, wipe out the pot with hot water and scrape leftovers into the rubbish bag. The washing-up water is strained through a sieve or cloth and scattered well away from water bodies. Use biodegradable soap sparingly or not at all – it does not belong in the water either.

Anyone with diarrhoea or vomiting does not prepare food for others or share snacks, because otherwise the pathogens spread through the whole group. What matters then is drinking plenty. With severe or persistent symptoms, blood in the stool or signs of dehydration – such as very little urine, marked weakness or confusion – medical help is called. In an emergency, use the local emergency number (112 in the EU).

Hand sanitiser works poorly when hands are visibly dirty, and only to a limited extent against some pathogens. Whenever possible, soap and water are the better choice. Good hygiene also never replaces treating drinking water: water from streams and lakes is disinfected before drinking, for example by boiling.

Food scraps and smells attract wildlife – from mice to larger animals. Leftovers and rubbish are packed sealed, carried out and stored the way local rules require.

You do not need much: a small piece of soap or a little bottle of liquid soap, hand sanitiser as a backup, resealable bags for food and leftovers, a sealed rubbish bag and a small cloth or sieve for straining washing-up water. A separate mug and spoon per person make sharing unnecessary.

Pack the hygiene items so that they are quickly at hand – for example together with the toilet paper in a small bag. Anything you first have to search for tends to be skipped in practice. The rules apply not only on tours, by the way, but just as much in emergency shelters with little water.