Please wash your hands, Mr Street food vendor

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and National Association of Street Vendors of India are giving lessons on hygiene to street food vendors across the country

Even though the city fumes over the unhygienic practices of street food vendors, some say the ones in Koramangala can set an example for the rest to follow

Remember "Emploice Muswasands" from Sacha Baron Cohen's The Dictator? Well, street food vendors in India have been told to do just that: must wash hands. While hard core street food lovers would agree that cheap, roadside fast food doesn't taste the same in a hygienic food court without the street dust and grime, the next-gen Indian is becoming increasingly conscious of the hygiene levels. 

India has sported a long history of street food peddlers where a weekend outing for children would be to the nearest pani puri wallah. So the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) along with National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) have begun training sessions for street food vendors in the country to help them become more hygienic. 

At the first session in New Delhi in October, vendors were asked to not pick their noses and or scratch their ears while on the job. The situation in Bangalore, though, is apparently better than Delhi and Mumbai. 

Sangeeta Singh, street food program manager, NASVI, said, "Even though Bangalore was late in catching up on the street food culture, hygiene lessons were in place. The younger generation is conditioned to look for signs of good hygiene when scouring for roadside snacks. For most, the gloves and cap are assurance enough."