Many waiters carry GERMS ON HANDS

Study Finds Food Handlers Carry E. Coli, Various Dangerous Bugs

    The meal that the waiter has served you appears to be perfect. It looks good, smells great and has just the right quantities of protein, carbohydrates and vitamins. But zoom in at a microscopic level and you’d probably see that also contains the most vile-looking and dangerous germs and bacteria like Escherichia coli (E. coli) and amoebic cysts.
    Not having hair or grime on your plate does not mean that the food served at a restaurant or roadside eatery is safe. A study shows that the hands of many chefs and waiters in the city are infested with deadly micro-organisms.
    The results of the study by Indian Public Health Association have come as a shocker to people who eat out as well as doctors and health department officials. Researchers found E. coli on the hands of nearly 11.2% of the people who handle food in five star hotels. In smaller restaurants, 47% of chefs and waiters had the bacterium, which can cause serious food poisoning, on their hands. The figure rises to 84.7% in roadside eateries.
    Researchers found amoebic cysts on the hands of 11.2% of waiters in roadside eateries. These cysts can cause forms of amoebiasis, from dysentery to amoebic liver abscess, the third most common cause of death (after schistosomiasis and malaria) from parasitic infections.
    What makes eating at roadside kiosks more dangerous is that these units do not follow hygienic practices and have unclean cooking practices. Eateries are often located near open drains or garbage bins. People in the city are also extremely vulnerable to food poisoning.
    It is an extremely scary situation, said IPHA state president Dr S Elango, who led the study. “We did not know these dangers existed before the study,” he said. “Food inspectors often test food quality but rarely check health and hygiene of people who handle food.” The situation could be even worse, he said. “We don’t know if there are other, more serious health risks because our study covered a limited number of disease causing microorganisms,” he said.
    Dr Elango’s team surveyed 250 restaurants and eateries over six months and checked the hands of 1,000 people who handled food. The subjects’ hands were dipped in distilled water that was then tested in labs. The tests showed that the water contained E. coli and several other dangerous micro-organisms.
    Scientists in the UK and France are now finding that lack of food safety measures could lead to the growth of superbugs that are resistant to antibiotics. Across the globe, experts have called on health officials to step up monitoring and stop superbugs like salmonella and typhimurium from spreading globally.
    City health officer B Kuganatham estimates that at least 65 lakh people in Chennai eat or drink in hotels or eateries at least once every day. The trade licences for hotels and eateries are issued by the State Food and Drug Safety Authority as per the provisions of the Food Safety Act.
    The law mandates hygienic practices for food handlers — including regular washing of hands with soap, use of disposable gloves, hair covers and clean clothes. A senior member of city’s hotel owner’s association said many restaurants do not follow the prescribed norms.
    “I work in a five star restaurant and we have very stringent rules,” a chef said. “But workers in our kitchens rarely wear gloves or follow other protocol.” Health officials said they often come across breaches of hygiene rules.
    Senior surgical gastroenterologist Dr S M Chandramohan said more than twothirds of his patients with food poisoning or stomach infections had been regularly eating out. Symptoms of stomach infections show up within minutes in some cases and sometimes take days.
    pushpa.narayan@timesgroup.com