Popular street foods containing harmful bacteria are being sold across the city, says a recent study. It concerns us that the bacteria are identified as the cause of various gastrointestinal ailments, including diarrhoea.
Polluted water, dirty towels, unclean hands, and dusty environment contaminate the street foods. Vendors’ lack of knowledge about health and sanitation are the major contributor to contaminating the street foods.
Experts explained that these germs enter the food due to contaminated water, dirty towels, unclean hands and dusty environment. The street foods which have high levels of Escherichia coli (e-coli), salmonella spp, and vibrio spp bacteria are chatpati, chhola-muri and sugarcane juice, chickpea mix, sandwiches, aloe vera juice, and mixed salads.
These bacteria are known to cause various stomach diseases, including diarrhoea. Ensuring access to safe food is not only a public health imperative but also a key prerequisite for sustainable development and poverty alleviation nationwide.
Safe food consumption has become crucial to maintain sound health and all quarters engaged in producing, manufacturing, processing and marketing food should discharge their duties with utmost sincerity and honesty to reach safe food to the consumers in general. At present, the country has almost attained food security and time has come to ensure food safety to build sound public health everywhere in the society.
Polluted water, dirty towels,
unclean hands, and dusty
environment contaminate
the street foods.
Punitive measures must be taken against the food adulteration and contamination so that no one dare commit such types of crimes. The existing law alone would never be able to salvage the situation unless people from all walks of life become aware of the harms of taking adulterated foods and took firm stand against such immoral mindset.
We need the people to come forward to stop these harmful practices. Concerted efforts of all the government and non-government organisations concerned have become indispensable for protecting food from all sorts of pollution and contamination.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has sounded the alarm on the growing global food safety crisis, reporting that an estimated 1.6 million people become sick from unsafe food every day. The authorities concerned must monitor street food vendors to ensure food safety.
Therefore, improving the hygiene practices of vendors and conducting daily checks are essential steps towards making street food safer for the public. The authorities concerned will also have to provide training to the vendors and conduct daily monitoring to ensure food safety.
Many people in the city are seen drinking various unsafe and coloured drinks from roadside vendors, risking being infected by different diseases as these drinks are made from substandard ingredients and served in unhygienic ways. Physicians caution such contaminated juice or drink can cause various diseases like diarrhoea, jaundice, typhoid, cholera, and paratyphoid.
Utmost importance should be given on generating mass-awareness about consumption of safe food as it can be the best way of freeing the public health from all sorts of risks. All concerned and other stakeholders who are involved in producing, manufacturing, processing, marketing and supplying of food should work together with sincerity and honesty to reach safe food to the consumers in general.
