Need for more awareness on food safety norms

Nowadays, traveling through the streets we came across a fair amount of street vendors selling different types of junk food without ensuring its hygiene. They do not understand that their unhygienic food can become a health hazard. Customers should avoid food from vendors, and if they want to buy, they should ensure its hygiene. The government should tackle the problem by making laws that pressurises street vendors to sell hygienic food.

Lavanaya Sood   

Vendors should cover food items

As far as hygiene of street food is considered, the standards are very poor. The authorities concerned are turning a blind eye to this issue. The vendors do not cover their food items which attract flies and germs. It also leads to many health problems such as diarrhoea. The least a vendor can do is cover the food items and wear gloves too. Proper waste management should be in place and the authorities should lay down regulations regarding food safety and cleanliness. Heavy penalty should be imposed on vendors who flout rules.

Deepnayan Bahl

Check Waste disposal system 

Roadside vendors often sell food prepared in unhygienic conditions. The Health Department should conduct seminars and provide training to these vendors. FSSAI should provide certificate to those vendors who fulfil certain laid-down conditions. These certificates should be displayed at shops and rehris. Sanitary conditions and waste disposal system should be strictly checked. They should use gloves while preparing food.

Ritu Priya

Role of government organisations

The need to ensure hygiene of food sold by vendors has become the need of the hour. Municipalities and food organisations can play their part by recruiting officers to examine the quality of food. The responsibility also lies with the consumer, who should avoid consumption of these products if they are unaware of the conditions it has been prepared in.

Japkirat    

Avoid uncovered food

Many roadside vendors do not cover food items which attracts flies and germs. So the consumers should avoid uncovered food. It should be made compulsory to cover the food so that they are not exposed to insects. Vendors should ensure that every food item they serve is prepared in hygienic conditions. They should voluntarily adopt hygienic measures to improve the quality of the food served. 

Devna Munjal  

Training should be given to vendors 

Habits of food vendors such as not washing their hands, not covering their hair, use of contaminated water, slime layer on poorly cleaned utensil and improper handling of food should be brought under check by the legislation. Every street food vendor, helper and food handler should undergo a basic training in food hygiene and safety. The training should include the procedure to prevent food contamination, risk of food-borne pathogens, maintaining personal hygiene and cleaning of utensils. 

Ravi Chander Garg  

Guilty should be fined

It is a matter of serious concern that some fruit sellers sell fruits kept in the open for long. Each fruit seller should obey the norms and precautions given by an expert team of doctors and other municipal officials. Vendors who violate the norms should be penalised. There should be a regulatory body to keep a vigilant eye on them. Each fruit seller must be provided a license to sell fruits and salad. 

Dr Mohd Saleem  

Unhygienic method of preparation

Most of the street food vendors do not practice hygienic method of preparing food. The present conditions, in which most of the street food vendors cook and sale, are unsuitable. Food is exposed to flies, birds and rodents, which cause food-borne pathogens. Street food vendors also lack proper food handling and waste disposal training.

Angel Arora 

Consumers equally responsible

Consumers should not buy any eatables from vendors who do not keep their food in hygienic conditions. The MC and local health department should regularly conduct raids to make sure that all roadside vendors adopt hygienic methods of preparing food, especially in rainy season. Consumers should make sure that vendors have gloves on while serving food, the utensils from which food is served should be clean and the food items must be covered. 

Bir Devinder Singh Bedi  

Dust and smoke make food unhygienic

The food sold by roadside vendors becomes more unhygienic as the day goes by because of dust and smoke emitted by passing vehicles. Vendors also use sub-standard oil and butter to make food. Consumers should prefer to eat at places which use disposable plates and maintain hygiene. 

Karanpreet Kaur   

Training must be compulsory

The MC should make it a rule for vendors to undergo training in food handling to ensure hygiene of food. The dust and smoke released by vehicles make roads the worst place to sell food. The cut and uncovered food is easily attacked by micro-organisms and insects which spread diseases.  It is better to avoid such food, especially raw vegetables and fruits, for a healthy body. 

Vaishnavi Kharbanda

Assure quality of fruits

To assure the quality of vegetables and fruits, a mechanism should be brought in place to check chemical residues on the surface of these goods. The government should make standard policies to check, test and assure the quality of food being sold by vendors. 

Insha Hanif

Food Safety Department must take food samples

Eating unhygienic foods often lead to various food-borne diseases. Vendors must keep in mind that tasty food is not the only parameter customers look for and if they serve food prepared in unhygienic conditions, customers will fall sick and it they will lose their customers. Hygienic and healthy food should be served to make permanent customers. The Food Safety Department must conduct regular checking and take food samples of street vendors to ensure the quality of food. Customers must be aware of what is being served to them.

Rattandeep Singh Oberoi

Vendors should keep eatables covered

Health is considered to be the most important part of the wellbeing of human beings. One needs to take balanced diet and hygienic food to stay healthy. But in various parts of the city, rehriwalas, vendors and other temporary eating joints along the roadsides are selling eatables which are not always hygienic. Rules must be formulated for these sellers. There must be an agency which issues licences to sell street food. Designated zones must be allotted to them. Vendors should keep eatables covered.

Farzana Khan

Impose heavy penalties on defaulters

As roadside vendors cater to a large number of customers on a daily basis, it becomes important to ensure that the food they serve is hygienic. Both the authorities and consumers need to play a proactive role to ensure the quality. Since it is not possible to keep a check on each vendor, the authorities should start allotting designated vending zones. The authorities should impose specific norms applicable to all vendors regarding cleanliness such as wearing caps and gloves, using good quality items and impose heavy penalties for non-fulfillment of the same. The major role is of the consumers who should question what is actually being served to them and remind the vendors of the norms. Well-informed consumers can ensure implementation of rules possible because if they will not allow the vendors to deceive them, the vendors will ultimately be forced to serve accordingly.

Akrita Budhiraja

More mobile testing labs should be launched

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will implement a ‘clean street food hub programme’. Wolfing down pani-pooris being served by a street vendor can become more relishing if the food safety regulator has its way. Vendors should be encouraged to comply with certain standards and those meeting the criteria would get a “clean street food hub certificate”. Such certified street vending zones will provide safe, tasty and affordable eating options for consumers. More mobile testing labs should be launched to ensure that customers relish quality street food. New benchmarks should be set for hygiene and sanitary conditions to ensure safety and hygiene among street food vendors. The authorities should raise health and safety standards of street foods.

Shubhangi Sofat 

Awareness drives on hygiene should be held

Getting hygienic food from roadside vendors is quite difficult due to lack of proper supervision by the government agencies for food safety standardisation of these facilities. Vendors should be made aware of the diseases caused due to unhygienic food they serve to their customers. Time-to-time, awareness drives regarding the methods of maintaining hygiene and cleanliness during cooking and serving food should be organised. Areas should be earmarked for food vendors so that there can be proper check on hygiene maintained by them with minimum inconvenience. It can also solve the problem of traffic jam-like situations near roadside food vendors. Some type of licencing for food quality standards for roadside vendors can also be a solution for quality assurance and if they fail to comply with the standards, their licence should be cancelled.

Vandna Malik

Licence of defaulters should be cancelled

In Ludhiana, where food is an emotion, keeping a hold over ever-increasing number of food vendors and the quality of food being served under a scanner is an arduous job. The administration has to play a proactive role. Regular and surprise visits by the Food Safety Department should be there. Licence of defaulters should be cancelled. A particular area should be assigned to vendors where a plaque displaying FSSAI certificate should be put up. This would ensure people that the food served is hygienic and affordable.

Neeti Marwaha

Training programmes on food safety be held

Food sold by roadside vendors is often unhygienic because they use unhygienic methods to prepare food. Before preparing the food, they don’t wash their hands. They don’t even cover the food after prepping it which allows flies and insects to sit on it. The district Health Department should organise training programmes on food safety norms for roadside vendors to ensure that food or snacks sold at roadside vends are manufactured in line with food safety norms and served in hygienic conditions.

Ravleen Kaur

Provide safety kits to vendors

Proper food safety norms must be formed and training must be provided by the government departments concerned for the protection of the interest of the public. The Health Safety Department must ensure that food or snacks sold by roadside vendors are manufactured within the food safety norms and served in hygienic conditions. Customers often unaware of the food being served under unhygienic conditions become vulnerable to numerous diseases, especially during the summer season. The Health Department should organise programmes to spread awareness among residents about unhygienic street foods.

Manpriya Kaur

Govt should set standard norms for vendors

Street foods are perceived to be a major public health risk. The government should set standard norms which have to be followed by each vendor before selling his product to public. Consumers themselves should be aware of their health and ask the vendor to wear gloves and mask while preparing food. The Health Department should regularly visit these vends and inspect the basic infrastructure of services, potable water used, utensils etc. and should charge heavy penalty if vendor doesn’t follow the set standards. Street plays can be organised by students to make public aware about the hazardous effects of street food.

Cheshta Vohra 

Norms of hygiene should be set for vendors

With the onset of summer, diet plays an important role in keeping one healthy. With many preferring street food to satiate their taste buds, it is important to focus on hygiene in order to stay fit. Consumers should avoid eating uncovered food .Vendors often use water from roadside taps which is not clean. Consumers should avoid drinking such water. The Health Department must set certain norms of hygiene which each vendor should follow. It should be necessary to cover the food so that they are not exposed to flies and insects. The MC authorities should organise hygiene training for street vendors and issue licences to vendors.

Mehakpreet Kaur 

Conduct random checks on roadside stalls

Often vendors engaged in selling snacks, beverages and other food items are unaware of awareness the food safety norms. As a result, customers often become their victim when food prepared by venders in unhygienic conditions is served to them. The Food Safety Department should conduct random checks on roadside stalls to ensure that vendors maintain hygienic conditions. The stall from where you eat your snacks should be clean. There should be bins placed for garbage disposal.

Tanvi Gulati 

Never drink water from open sources

In India, food which is prepared and sold on the roadsides is usually unhealthy and unhygienic. We should be cautious and eat only clean and fully cooked food. Pre-cut fruits and salads should be avoided at all times. We should check the cleanliness of the stall. Stay away from chutneys and sauces kept in open places. Never drink water from open sources.

Pavneet Kaur

Awareness programmes should be organised

Improved safety of street foods can be achieved through awareness programmes involving several partners such as local authorities, government departments and NGOs. The government agencies must also ensure that the food quality is maintained at the farm level. These agencies should keep a check on any misuse of agro chemicals, including pesticides and other veterinary drugs, which have harmful effects on human health. Good agricultural practices should be applied to reduce chemical hazards. The government should promote organic farming techniques.

Gurleen Kaur

Penalties should be imposed on violators

Roadside vendors often don't cover the food items which attract flies and germs and water they use is also not clean, which invites many diseases. The MC should ensure that all vendors follow certain norms of hygiene. Heavy penalties should be imposed if the authorities find any roadside vendor violating food safety norms and serve food which is prepared in unhygienic conditions. Clean and safe drinking water should be used for cooking purposes. It should be compulsory to cover the food items so that they are not exposed to insects.

Anushka

Conduct surprise checks on roadside vends

The authorities concerned should conduct surpris