Thursday, December 16, 2010

SANITISING STREET FOOD

Street food vendors need a paradigm shift!

Street food as a concept and the sheer indulgence around it has its own character which is unique in itself! The enticing aroma, the mouth watering delicacies, its ubiquitous availability, regional flavour, and to top it the low cost, make it an instant success among all kinds of consumers. However, probably the biggest deterrent for this sector has been the associated health hazards on account of lack of hygiene.

A couple of months back, hundreds of kilos of sweets were destroyed in Chandigarh during a joint drive conducted by police, health department and Municipal Corporation of the city as most of these edibles were found to be prepared and stored in un-hygienic conditions. This drill was conducted to implement the provisions of the Prevention of Adulteration Act, 1954 and banning the sale of cut fruits under the Epidemic Control Act, 1897. Even a survey conducted by Metropolis Healthcare Ltd in Mumbai found that 88 percent of street food is unfit for consumption. Further, the quantitative bacterial analysis test (conducted during Dec'09-Feb'10) found that 61 out of 70 street food samples tested, were contaminated with bacteria. Another survey by the Health Ministry in 2006 covering 16 cities revealed that 90 percent of the street food is unfit for consumption. Amidst all these, some organisations have really made a difference including Grahak Shakti in Bangalore. They prepared a 'plan of action' to spread awareness and educate the vendors instead of consumers.

Street food not only is a huge unorganised sector, but also forms a dominant source of income for a large percentage of the population in almost all countries; especially the developing ones. As per the Food and Agriculture Organisation, globally, a staggering 2.5 billion people eat street food every day. In Southeast Asia, the average earnings of a street food vendor is estimated to be three to ten times more than the minimum wage. In Malaysia, the daily sales range from $10 to $120. Low capital investment clubbed with huge consumer attractiveness and flexible working hours, makes it one of the most sought-aft er self-employment areas. To facilitate hygienic street food and promote self-employment, countries like Malaysia, Singapore and China have organised hawker centres that house many stalls which sell a variety of local street food. With hygiene standards improving and strict implementation of licensing requirements (where sufficient clauses on hygiene is stressed upon), these centres attract huge population to start small businesses. For instance, these centres in Singapore are owned by three government bodies and headed by the National Environment Agency (NEA) which also has an interactive web portal about these food joints. Likewise, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department manages hawker centres in Hong Kong.

Coming back to India, fair licensing and inspections along with intensive awareness program can make this unorganised sector a choice for the millions of unemployed youths. Banning street food trade or imposing stringent guidelines may have adverse effect knowing the huge promise the sector can off er! In addition, such clamping would also breed unethical practices. Authorised street food joints can be constructed with decent infrastructure and waste disposal facility to facilitate such trade. This would not only decrease the incidence of food-borne diseases but would also eventually create economies for the sector. And most importantly, there is an immediate need of paradigm shift for such vendors from the currently perceived lowly held vocation to a structured food enterprise.

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1 comment:

  1. SIR,
    YOUR ARTICLE BRINGS FORTH THE UNMISTAKEABLE EMPHASIS ON SELF EMPLOYMENT GENERATION & HEALTH ASPECT - THE TWO FOREMOST POINTS OF CONCERN FOR OUR ECONOMY TODAY.PENNING DOWN THESE ISSUES IS FOOD FOR THOUGHT & I HOPE THE RIGHT AUTHORITIES WILLTAKE NOTICE & IMPLEMENT. TILL THEN... TRY TILL U SUCCEED...GOOD LUCK

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