dangerous eating habits in China

[liuzhou]

I hate persimmons and I don't have crabs so presumably I will live forever.

This thread is hilarious!

[crazy-meiguoren]

If you fish for persimmons and pick crabs from trees, then you're in deeper trouble than you think.

[xiaocai]

Using communal chopsticks are not enough since China is such a filthy land filled with deadly microorganisms. I'd recommend you sterilise everything you come in contact with to eliminate all possibilities of contracting infectious diseases.

　Personally I will not mind at all. I don't think you need to explain too much actually. Just tell them that it is your personal preference and you have always been doing that. I'm pretty most of them will understand. Just like when my friends and I go to western restaurants we always share our dishes around and eat from one another's plates using our own cutleries, who cares?

[Brian US]

Better off checking the fingernails of the cook.

[kellys]

don't say that directly, you will offend your wife's friends and your wife too. i think you stay in china long enough to have the immune system. just trust and be friendly to chinese people, they are your wife's relatives and friends, if they have the disease that will be infected by dinning together, you wife will definitely know that.

[Guest realmayo]

There is a comprehensive guide to the dangerous crab/persimmon combination here, which includes photos illustrating five scenarios in which you could find yourself eating crabs with persimmons, as well as advice on the best way to do so.