B Street Smart Eating - WordPress.com · Street Smart Eating as the water and cloth to wipe...
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Prachi Patodia Saraf W ho doesn’t enjoy street food – the delicious bhel, the mouth-watering pani puris and the spicy pav bhaji. However, eating contaminated street food can make us sick. “ere are three food and water borne diseases which are especially rampant during monsoons – typhoid, jaundice and gastroenteritis,” says Mumbai based general physician Dr. Anil Mehta. Read on to learn some surprisingly easy ways to protect yourself from the nasty things that can creep into your food: t Fresh foods prepared in front of you are safe as the chances of contamination are reduced. E.g. steamed idli, dosa, vada pav and pav bhaji. t Cooked foods like pav bhaji, ragda pattice and grilled foods like cucumber and tomato sandwich are safer to eat. t Eat or drink either very hot or cold as the microbes in the food are dead. E.g. tea, kulfi, sherbet. t Choose vendors who use mineral water. t Buy from a popular and busy vendor’s stall, as the ingredients will be freshly prepared. t Use disposable plates and cutlery, Street Smart Eating as the water and cloth to wipe non- disposable plates might not be clean. t Wearing disposable gloves during preparation and serving is hygienic. t Food must be covered. Flies or dust can contaminate uncovered foods like bhel and pani puri. t ere should be a neat disposal system and the garbage should be covered. e area near the vendor’s stall should be clean. Avoid t Chaat during summers and monsoons. Eat it in winters if you must. t “Chaat with dahi, as dahi is usually prepared in the morning and used in the evening. All milk and milk products are very susceptible to infections,” adds Sneha Fafat, a dietitian. t Pani puri. e water of pani puri is made from tamarind. “Tamarind can have worms if not cleaned thoroughly. Acids might be added in the pani puri water to enhance the taste,” adds Sheela Mahapatra, a dietitian and In-charge Principal, Women’s Technical Education & Research (L.A.D College, Nagpur). Additionally, water used to make the ‘pani’ might not be filtered. t Any type of chutney. E.g. coconut chutney with dosa. t Pre-cut fruit. Exposure to sunlight or air makes it susceptible to microbes. B Prachi Patodia Saraf is a health enthusiast and marathon runner. She has a Bachelors’ in Management from e Wharton School (USA). Stop denying yourself the gastro pleasures of street food. Indulge by taking a few easy precautions. B FED 66 August I 2011 B+ve
Transcript of B Street Smart Eating - WordPress.com · Street Smart Eating as the water and cloth to wipe...
Prachi Patodia Saraf
Who doesn’t enjoy street food – the delicious bhel, the mouth-watering pani
puris and the spicy pav bhaji. However, eating contaminated street food can make us sick. “There are three food and water borne diseases which are especially rampant during monsoons – typhoid, jaundice and gastroenteritis,” says Mumbai based general physician Dr. Anil Mehta.
Read on to learn some surprisingly easy ways to protect yourself from the nasty things that can creep into your food:
tFresh foods prepared in front of you are safe as the chances of contamination are reduced. E.g. steamed idli, dosa, vada pav and pav bhaji.
tCooked foods like pav bhaji, ragda pattice and grilled foods like cucumber and tomato sandwich are safer to eat.
tEat or drink either very hot or cold as the microbes in the food are dead. E.g. tea, kulfi, sherbet.
tChoose vendors who use mineral water.
tBuy from a popular and busy vendor’s stall, as the ingredients will be freshly prepared.
tUse disposable plates and cutlery,
Street Smart Eating
as the water and cloth to wipe non-disposable plates might not be clean.
tWearing disposable gloves during preparation and serving is hygienic.
tFood must be covered. Flies or dust can contaminate uncovered foods like bhel and pani puri.
tThere should be a neat disposal system and the garbage should be covered. The area near the vendor’s stall should be clean.
AvoidtChaat during summers and
monsoons. Eat it in winters if you must.
t“Chaat with dahi, as dahi is usually prepared in the morning and used in the evening. All milk and milk products are very susceptible to infections,” adds Sneha Fafat, a dietitian.
tPani puri. The water of pani puri is
made from tamarind. “Tamarind can have worms if not cleaned thoroughly. Acids might be added in the pani puri water to enhance the taste,” adds Sheela Mahapatra, a dietitian and In-charge Principal, Women’s Technical Education & Research (L.A.D College, Nagpur). Additionally, water used to make the ‘pani’ might not be filtered.
tAny type of chutney. E.g. coconut chutney with dosa.
tPre-cut fruit. Exposure to sunlight or air makes it susceptible to microbes. B
Prachi Patodia Saraf is a health enthusiast and marathon runner. Shehas a Bachelors’ in Management from The Wharton School (USA).
Stop denying yourself the gastro pleasures of street food. Indulge by taking a few easy precautions.
B Fed
66 August I 2011B+ve
