South Africa FoodFood Safety Tips, Food Prices, FAQs & moreSouth Africa food and wine standards are high as South Africa adopted the International food standards and there is first class food available in South Africa and not all of the best quality food is exported anymore. Nevertheless food safety is always a sensitive topic when you move to a new country and worry about your daily nutrition. Here I will give some insight regarding food in South Africa and you will find food safety tips too. What precautions do I have to take when preparing food?With food in South Africa do as in every hot climate: wash it, peal it or cook it, always!Some people here might go as far as washing every tomato religiously with mild disinfection liquid which you can buy in the supermarkets too. But I never felt the need for it. Others of my friends are so content with the food quality they do not even peel or wash mushrooms before cooking them. Well, my advice is: do as you need to feel comfortable, but usually it is safe enough to wash and lightly scrub your fruits and vegetables before serving. Is tap water safe to drink? How is the quality of water?Water in Cape Town is safe to drink. There are always certain rumors of water scares but the quality of water in Cape Town is good. However many people prefer to drink bottled spring water or sparkling water, which is widely available too. You will pay around R6 for a 1.5 litre bottle of water.If you have little children or babies I would recommend you use either bottle water or you boil tap water to sterilize it and when cooled store it in the fridge.
Is the food safe to eat out or do I have to take precautions?Dining out in Cape Town is as stress free as can be. If you are eating a lot of seafood and are eating out a lot I would however recommend you have a hepatitis A vaccination.Hepatitis A is transmitted through spoilt food and can lead to liver damage. We also order our drinks without ice and in a can when we are not sure how “safe” the environment is. Fruits and vegetable taste so different here, how come?Many people do not recognize the taste of some food when they taste local fruits or vegetables or even dislike some of their favorite food items.South Africa food grows in different soil and therefore has got a different taste. The taste of local courgettes (zucchini) was something my family had to get used to. It took almost a year to get our taste buds round to accept the new taste. What are the South Africa food prices in Cape Town?The food prices in South Africa are considerably lower than in many other countries overseas. Specialist imported food items however can be very pricy.To get your imported Italian coffee will set you back a small fortune. The Italian Lavazza d’Oro coffee costs R249 per kilo of coffee beans. Imported cheeses and ham are widely available with the corresponding price tag. You will find many imported goods in the supermarkets or specialist stores of the foreign communities. If you are happy with the local products, you will save quite a bit of money when grocery shopping. To have more insight into the items' actual prices of food see my listing. Can I get halaal food in South Africa?The preparation of halaal food is a large sector in South Africa's food industry. It is widely available as there is a big muslim population in Cape Town. Halaal food is marked and available in supermarkets.
Is there kosher food available in Cape Town?Kosher food is available in Cape Town too. If you are looking for kosher food go to Seapoint as there are many specialist stores in this area. Food which is sold there was prepared in accordance to Jewish law.
What about genetically modified food?GM food is widely accepted by the South African population. The food standards agency ruled that genetically modified products have to be labeled.Many of my fellow expat however voiced their concern about modified ingrediences in South Africa food. So you will have to read the labels of the food products carefully to find out if its ingrediences were modified.
If you have any other questions or concerns please feel free to contact me via my contact page. Looking to hearing from you. Return from South Africa Food to ExpatCapeTown
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