Most food in Costa Rica is perfectly safe, but a few specific items carry higher risk for travelers. Tap water in the San José metro area and most tourist towns is treated and drinkable, which puts Costa Rica ahead of many Central American destinations. The real concerns are more targeted: certain raw preparations, specific types of seafood, undercooked pork in rural areas, and fresh produce that tends to be heavily sprayed with pesticides.
Tap Water Outside Major Towns
Costa Rica’s municipal water supply is generally safe in cities and well-visited tourist areas. The country has invested heavily in water treatment, and most hotels and restaurants in popular destinations use potable water. That said, rural areas, small beach towns, and mountain communities sometimes rely on untreated well water or aging infrastructure. If you’re staying somewhere off the beaten path, stick to bottled or filtered water. Ice in restaurants is almost always made from purified water, but roadside stands and very small sodas (local eateries) may use tap water for ice.
Unpasteurized Cheese and Dairy
Costa Rica produces a soft white cheese often called “queso fresco” or “queso tierno” that shows up at breakfast tables, in gallo pinto, and at farmers’ markets. In supermarkets and established restaurants, this cheese is made from pasteurized milk and carries no unusual risk. The concern is with artisanal or farm-made versions sold at roadside stands or open-air markets, which may be unpasteurized.
Raw milk products can harbor Campylobacter, E. coli, Listeria, Brucella, and Salmonella. Brucella is the one that tends to surprise travelers because it’s rare in the U.S. and Europe but still circulates in parts of Latin America. The infection causes prolonged fever, joint pain, and fatigue that can take weeks to diagnose. If you’re buying cheese from a market vendor or small farm, ask whether it’s pasteurized. If you can’t confirm, skip it.
Undercooked Pork in Rural Areas
Pork in Costa Rica’s cities and tourist restaurants is commercially raised and generally safe when cooked through. The risk shifts in rural areas where small-scale pig farming is common. Pigs kept in free-range systems of fewer than 10 animals, often feeding on household scraps and scavenging, can carry the larval form of the pork tapeworm Taenia solium. Eating undercooked pork from these animals can lead to a tapeworm infection, and in more serious cases, the larvae can migrate to the brain and cause neurocysticercosis.
This isn’t a reason to avoid pork entirely. It’s a reason to make sure pork is fully cooked, especially at rural sodas, family-run farms, or small-town festivals. Well-cooked chicharrones and pork casados at established restaurants pose minimal risk.
Large Reef Fish
Costa Rica’s Pacific and Caribbean coasts offer fantastic seafood, but certain large predatory fish accumulate ciguatera toxin, a natural toxin produced by algae that builds up in the food chain. The fish most commonly linked to ciguatera poisoning are barracuda, grouper, amberjack, and marlin. Barracuda is the single most cited cause in medical literature.
Ciguatera can’t be cooked, frozen, or marinated out of the fish. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and a distinctive neurological quirk where hot and cold sensations feel reversed. Recovery can take weeks or months, and people who’ve been affected are advised to avoid those same fish species for at least six months afterward. Stick to smaller fish like snapper, mahi-mahi, and tilapia, which are staples of Costa Rican cuisine and carry far lower ciguatera risk.
Ceviche From Unreliable Sources
Ceviche is everywhere in Costa Rica, especially along the coast. The citrus juice used to “cook” the raw fish does reduce some bacteria, but it doesn’t eliminate all pathogens the way heat does. The bigger issue is cross-contamination during preparation. Ceviche is often made in kitchens that primarily serve cooked food, which means the raw fish may share cutting boards, utensils, and storage with other ingredients.
At a clean, busy seafood restaurant near the coast where fish arrives fresh daily, ceviche is a low-risk choice. At an inland roadside stand or a place with slow turnover, the odds of the fish sitting at unsafe temperatures go up considerably. Use your judgment: if the kitchen looks clean and the restaurant is popular with locals, you’re probably fine. If the operation looks questionable, order something cooked instead.
Heavily Sprayed Produce
Costa Rica uses more pesticides per hectare than most countries in the region, and some crops receive dramatically high applications. Research from the University of California, Davis found that potatoes grown for the domestic market in Costa Rica are the most pesticide-intensive crop, receiving roughly 11.5 times the national average. Tomatoes and beets also ranked near the top, with tomatoes receiving about 61.5 kilograms of active pesticide ingredients per hectare per crop cycle, compared to the national average of 38.1.
This doesn’t mean you should avoid all vegetables. It does mean you should peel or thoroughly wash potatoes and tomatoes, especially those bought from markets rather than restaurants. Fruits with thick peels you remove before eating, like pineapples, bananas, and mangoes, carry much less risk. Lettuce and leafy greens in salads are harder to clean thoroughly, so at small roadside stands where you’re unsure of the water quality, a cooked dish is a safer bet.
Street Vendor Meat Left Out in Heat
Costa Rica’s tropical climate means food temperatures climb quickly. Cooked rice, beans, and meats sitting at a street stall without refrigeration or warming equipment can enter the bacterial danger zone within an hour. This applies less to busy vendors who cook in small batches and sell out quickly, and more to stalls where pre-made food sits under the sun for extended periods. Chicharrones, empanadas, and tamales from a vendor with high turnover are generally fine. A plate of food that looks like it’s been sitting since morning is not worth the risk.
The same principle applies to buffets at cheaper hotels and hostels. If the scrambled eggs and sausage on the breakfast buffet feel lukewarm rather than hot, they’ve likely been out too long. Freshly prepared food from the kitchen is always the safer option.
What’s Safe to Eat Freely
The list of things to enjoy with confidence in Costa Rica is much longer than the list of things to avoid. Gallo pinto, the rice-and-beans staple, is safe everywhere. Casados (set lunch plates with rice, beans, salad, and a protein) at established sodas are reliably good. Fresh tropical fruit with removable peels, coffee, cooked seafood at coastal restaurants, and commercially produced dairy products are all low-risk. Costa Rica’s food culture is built around fresh ingredients and simple preparation, and the vast majority of meals you eat there will be both safe and excellent.