Street vendor nabbed in Baclaran for allegedly recycling tokneneng

A street vendor in Baclaran, Parañaque City was arrested last weekend for allegedly recycling unsold tokneneng, a report on Balitanghali by Jamie Santos on Monday said.

The vendor was caught on video, which has gone viral, removing the tempura-like batter of tokneneng and transferring the eggs in a pot with water. A popular street food, tokneneng is made by dipping quail egg in flour and deep-frying it.

In the video, the vendor was seen doing this on ground level then transferring the eggs in a strainer before putting them in another container.

According to the person who uploaded the video, it seems that the vendor was planning to sell the eggs again.

Authorities then conducted an inspection in Baclaran and caught the man shown on the viral video.

The man, however, said the recycled unsold eggs were to be sold as feed for pigs.

"Okay pa 'yon, hindi pa sira," he said.

The vendor will face charges of violation of the Sanitation Code, the report said.

Atty. Dean Soriano, city administrator, said vendors have to understand the importance of sanitation when handling food.

"Itong mga manininda po natin, dapat makita nila kung ano ang nararapat na kalusugan para sa tao," he said.

A vendor in the area named Venus who also sells kwek-kwek (chicken eggs dipped in batter then fried) told GMA News the other sellers in the area may be affected by what happened.

Another vendor named Malou, meanwhile, clarified that eggs will not spoil easily. "Ang itlog tatlong araw talaga ang buhay niyan. Basta ilalagay sa ref. Tapos puwedeng i-recycle kung tama din na lagayan," she said.

Dr. Rey Selinel, an infectious diseases specialist, advised the public to be wary of taking street foods.

"Papasok dito 'yung contamination, bacterial overgrowth. Pwede kang magkaroon ng acute gastroenteritis," he said. —KG, GMA News