Guest Column: Govt should train vendors

The primary concern around food sold on the streets is hygiene. In India, the issue of food hygiene can be addressed with a few interventions. As long as the food is fresh, stored safely, handled hygienically and disposed of appropriately, it can be consumed.

To work towards more hygienic street food, community facilities like storage spaces for degradable foodstuff (community fridges), public toilets, and dedicated areas on streets for vending of food make good investments. Adequate public water supply will help the vendors wash their hands after using the toilet and before handling the food and to wash the ingredients as well besides providing quality drinking water to their customers.

Work surfaces, cutlery, and vessels should be cleaned regularly with soap and water and dried in the sunlight. Since inadequate reheating can make food unsafe, street food should preferably be freshly prepared in small quantities.

The method of serving the food is also important. Plastics and newspapers may not meet safety standards as they can release toxins into the food. A better idea would be to supply the vendors low-cost biodegradable material to serve the food in.

A dedicated garbage collection method with segregation will help too as improper disposal leads to breeding of flies and rodents. All food handlers should avoid preparing food if they suffer from gastrointestinal disease and must undergo regular deworming, clip their nails, wash their hands frequently and cover their hair with a plastic wrap. Also, raw meat should not be stored along with cooked food as it can be contaminated.

Gastrointestinal diseases such as hepatitis A, typhoid and E.coli infections  can spread through consumption of street food and so it's important for vendors to maintain hygiene and for customers to be aware and cautious.

Those who eat street food should bear in mind that it is safer when piping hot and that smaller chunks are better as their centre also cooks well. They should make sure there are  no flies, insects and  rodents  around the eating area, that the person preparing the food is not coughing, that his or her nails are cut and hair, groomed and that the cooked food and ingredients are covered. It is also better to avoid ice used by the vendor and  cut fruit stored in the open.

The government could come out with a scheme to train street vendors  and give them a certificate and also encourage and monitor  hygienic practices among them.  This is more acceptable than a corporate agenda to evict the street vendors.