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Are there many (enough) convenience stores throughout India that sell prepackaged food?

Thailand's 7-11 was great for cheese toasties, etc. I am wondering if we can get quick meals and snacks like this too. We are going to Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Varanasi, and Amritsar and really, really do not want to get sick.

JoErNanO
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MarionIrene
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  • Related: https://travel.stackexchange.com/q/2589/101 – Mark Mayo Jul 02 '19 at 02:42
  • Possible duplicate of How to prevent "Delhi Belly"? – Aaron F Jul 02 '19 at 10:43
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    I spent a month travelling around India and didn't get sick once. I ate "dal fry" (lentil curry) almost every day. I drank bottled water, beer, or lassi (a yoghurt drink). I only ate meat at up-market restaurants. I washed my hands before eating. I never ate unpeeled fruit or vegetables. (One of my travel companions was less fortunate: believing himself immune due to his Indian heritage, he bought a tasty cup of coconut water from a street vendor in Mumbai, and within less than two hours was out of action for the next 36 hours!) – Aaron F Jul 02 '19 at 10:53
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    @AaronF sure, that's relevant, but it's a completely different question. – David Richerby Jul 02 '19 at 14:31
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    Are convenience stores in India owned and staffed by Americans? – AbraCadaver Jul 02 '19 at 15:21
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    @DavidRicherby I'm not sure it is a different question. The post is a classic X-Y problem. The OP actually wants to avoid getting sick, and they think the best way to do that is to buy prepackaged food, so they want to make sure they can buy it. The problem is that prepackaged food won't solve their problem; it won't stop them getting sick. – Martin Bonner supports Monica Jul 02 '19 at 15:38
  • There are a water crisis right now going on in some states. Be aware of that and enjoy the travel. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/06/25/734534821/no-drips-no-drops-a-city-of-10-million-is-running-out-of-water – mario ruiz Jul 02 '19 at 21:25
  • You wont get many places selling cheese toasties – Nigel Fds Jul 03 '19 at 05:37

3 Answers3

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Yes, you can buy prepackaged food in convenience stores throughout India and there are many. Even in small shops you can buy prepackaged food like cakes, or ready to eat stuff etc. which you can heat up in your room.

But prepackaged food in India does not mean that you will not get sick. If you want to avoid getting sick in India you have to do:

  1. Don’t eat uncooked food (food must be hot) .
  2. Don’t eat fruit and vegetables that have only been peeled or not cooked (even salad).
  3. Don’t drink tap water. Drink only filtered or bottled water, and ice is bad).
  4. Don't eat street food or eat at only popular food locations.
  5. Always wash your hands before you eat.

  6. My personal tip (optional): Drink a little schnaps before eating. That will help to kill some of the bacteria and it has always helped me. (If someone doesn't believe my personal tip just ignore it and if one still wants some proof - please just google it and read some studies done in the past - Two of many random links):

    1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3046197/

    2. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/strong-medicine-drinking-wine-and-beer-can-help-save-you-from-cholera-montezumas-revenge-e-coli-and-ulcers1/ )

N Randhawa
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There is no 7-11 in India. Convenience stores that sells pre-packaged food that can be heated up like 7/11 are rare.

You can visit shopping malls in the area or hypermarket and search. They may sell it. However, noodles, bread, biscuits and other things that can be eaten right away or bit cooking is available in even the smallest store.

Just a pro tip: Just because it is packaged doesn't mean it's safe. Stick with popular brands. Especially for water, drink bislery only. There are enough great foods available over there. Try, nan, and similar stuff are relatively safe to eat. For curry, exercise caution.

Peter Mortensen
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Anish Sheela
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  • I don't know if you're right, but your information seems to directly contradict parts of @NRandhawa's answer. Can you give more information, especially what you mean with "pre-packaged food that can be heated up like 7/11" and what "rare" means to you? – I'm with Monica Jul 03 '19 at 11:57
  • In addition to that pro tip of yours, wash the packages too. The germs from the outside can get inside once we open them. Some stores don't bother to clean the products and their workers mishandle the the packages very bad unhygienic way. Just because its shiny it does not mean it is clean. – Jazz Jul 03 '19 at 12:44
  • @AlexanderKosubek, I stay in singapore. Here in 7/11, there are food like Pasta, Baked rice, etc that can be microwaved on the store and can be eaten there. So, you will get a nice hot meal from a convenience store. But such things are not common in India. The prepackages food are like cakes, bread, like that. Not hot meals. – Anish Sheela Jul 04 '19 at 02:47
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There are ready to heat meals available in many shops and you can get things like upma poha etc (typical Indian food) as dehydrated meals that are reconstituted with hot water.

user6359
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