Anytime you have as many people as there are on a cruise ship, confined within a given area, the chances of spreading airborne viruses soar. And naturally, because all of these people need to be fed, there will be mountains of food prepared and consumed that hold the potential of food-borne illnesses. But is there any cause for worry?

Not really. While cruise lines are buying massive amounts of one food, i.e. beef from a designated supplier, it is no more likely that a problem will exist in a single source, than in buying from dozens of sources, or vice versa. Remember, all suppliers of foods are governed by regulatory bodies that inspect their facilities, processing and packaging.

In addition, participating cruise lines are part of the Vessel Sanitation Program that was launched by the Center for Disease Control in the early 1970s. Back in that era, it was not uncommon to see 12-15 outbreaks of diarrhea-related bacterial illnesses per year on cruise ships. As of 1999, that figure dropped to an average of three cases per year.

Each ship is inspected twice yearly, by VSP staff with specific guidelines for deducting points in every area of sanitation, including those outside of the food service area. A ship must score 86 or more to pass. If it doesn’t, the inspection will be repeated in 4-6 weeks. This by no means guarantees that a ship cannot experience a problem in between those inspections, as evidenced by a case in 2000, when more than 250 passengers on one ship developed gastroenteritis, despite an inspection rating of 94, less than six months before.

Yes, one bad egg in a dish or salad for a buffet that feeds dozens of people, can still cause a problem. But so can people eating native foods on shore, without taking proper precautions, such as avoiding fruit washed in local water, or ice cubes.

Food contamination or food-borne illnesses happen so rarely now on cruise ships, that there is far less reason to be concerned about it, than there is about whether you brought enough luggage to hold all your souvenirs and treasures.