Food poisoning cases on the rise as street vendors flout safety norms

Ludhiana: At a time when cases of food poisoning are increasing rapidly in the city, the health department seems to be in a deep slumber as street vendors are serving food items without adhering to the food safety norms.
Lack of cleanliness, knowledge or will to implement food safety guidelines on the part of street vendors coupled with health departments apathy and the peak hot weather has resulted in a spurt in people falling ill from food poisoning.
In a check conducted by Times of India, it was found that most of the street vendors operating in prominent markets — Ghumar Mandi, Sarabha Nagar and BRS Nagar — are flouting food safety guidelines.
District health officer Andesh Kang said, “Regular raids are being conducted by the health department to keep a check on the cleanliness issues of food serving vendors operating across the district. On June 19, a food safety team took samples of 23 food items from different vendors running in Model Town, Kochar Market as well as Habiowal area for further testing and to induce a sense of compliance for food safety rules among the vendors. During the raid, fruit vendors were also sensitized about litchi and ripening of fruits and told to sell quality fruits.”
Civil surgeon Rajesh Bagga said, “The health department is taking every possible step to maintain cleanliness at roadside food stalls and timely guidelines were issued among the society about how to take care of their health in summer.”
Gastroenterologist Dr Rajinder Gupta said, “As the heat wave grips the city with day temperature going above 45 degrees Celsius, it has become difficult to keep food fresh even in homes. Street vendors usually don’t follow food safety norms and use stale ingredients in their preparation which causes food poisoning. This is mostly prevalent in young people who are the majority consumers of street food.”
Kajal Soorma, a resident Model Town, said, “Health bodies should keep a check on street food vendors as they are serving food items without following safety standards and posing a health risk.”