Drinking water and food safety

Tashkent tap water is technically treated to drinking standard, but the pipe infrastructure is old and travellers routinely get stomach upset from it. Everyone in Uzbekistan drinks bottled or filtered water.

Bottled water: - Ubiquitous. Every shop and stall sells it. - 0.5 L costs 3,000–5,000 UZS ($0.25–0.40). - 1.5 L bottle: 7,000–10,000 UZS. - Brands to trust: Nestlé, Toshkent, Bonaqua, Karakhan. - Check the seal is intact before opening — refilling used bottles is rare but not unknown.

Filtering your own: - A Grayl Ultrapress or Lifestraw handles municipal tap fine. Not needed for most trips, but reduces plastic. - Boiling for 1 minute also works.

Ice: - In restaurants ice comes from filtered water; safe at reputable places. - At small tea stalls or bazaar stands, skip the ice.

Restaurant food: - Cooked hot food — plov, shashlik, manti, soups — is very safe. High temperature kills anything. - Freshly baked non — safe. - Raw salads — generally OK at reputable places; be cautious at street stalls in high summer when cross-contamination risk rises. - Fresh fruit — wash or peel yourself if not eating at a restaurant. - Dairy — unpasteurised yoghurt (katiq) at rural chaikhanas is delicious but risky for sensitive stomachs.

Bazaar snacks: - Non (bread) and samsa (baked pastries) — safe. - Kebabs from open grills — hot when served, safe. - Cold prepared salads on display — riskier in summer. - Fresh fruit from vendors — wash with bottled water.

Traveller's diarrhoea: - Loperamide (Imodium) available in Uzbek pharmacies without prescription. - If accompanied by fever or blood, see a doctor — bacterial dysentery needs antibiotics. - Rehydration salts (ORS) sold in pharmacies as "Regidron".