If you are unable to resist the urge to dig into spicy water-filled crispy pani puris, samosas, kachoris and gulp down delicious ice-golas, limbu sikanji and other juices, you are inviting trouble. High faecal contamination in junk food items is likely to affect your health.
The onset of May ushers in scare about outbreak of water-borne diseases in the Diamond City. Past experience shows that apart from the heat stroke, it is the water contamination and unhygienic ice-based items and other foods, which have been major cause for jaundice, cholera, etc.
The sale of ice, ice-creams, ice-dishes, fruit dishes and juices increases this time of the year as residents consume these items to beat the heat.
The common ingredient in cold food items is ice. Manufacturing of ice used by juice stalls, ice-gola and fruit vendors is done in unhygienic condition at the ice factories across the city. It is a tough challenge for Surat Municipal Corporation's health department to carry out regular checks at roadside eateries.
The bacterial pathogens commonly found in street eateries are Bacillus Cereus (causes vomiting and diarrhoea), Clostridium Perfringens (abdominal cramps and diarrhoea), Staphylococcus Aureus (vomiting, appetite loss, abdominal cramps and mild fever), and Salmonella species (typhoid, food poisoning, irritation and inflammation in gastrointestinal tract).
SMC's medical officer of health (MoH) Dr Ashish Naik told TOI, "With the onset of summer season and as a part of pre-monsoon drive, we carry out regular inspections and checking at roadside eateries. Recently, we did a week-long operation where more than 350 ice-golas outlets were shut and actions taken against dairies, sweet shops and food stalls. However, we do not collect water and food samples. Our teams are instructed to just close down roadside stalls if the food and other items are prepared under unhygienic conditions."
The presence of coliform in food items indicates absence of clean water as well as unhygienic conditions at the place where the food was prepared.
"E.coli ends up in food through faecal matter. The source could be contaminated water. At most of the street vendors, or even branded outlets, the quality of water and handling of food lack supervision. The civic body has to act tough under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. Closing down ice-golawalas or roadside eateries for unhygienic conditions is not going to serve any purpose. They (roadside eateries) will again come up with a new set-up," says medico-legal expert Dr Vinesh Shah.
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